West Coast Avengers
by Silmarilz1701
Summary: When Hawkeye receives orders from Director Fury to set up a new Avengers team with a new mission in San Francisco, Clint chooses Bobbi as second in command. With them also go Greer Grant, Eliza White, Leo Fitz, and Sharon Carter. Their new mission, to establish a training center called Avengers Academy. But while running the school, there are still bad guys out there. ELIZAVERSE
1. The Academy

_A/N: Welcome to the next installment of the **Elizaverse**! This story follows directly after the final events of The Changeling, but I will attempt to tell you what you've missed if you don't want to go back and reread the 250 chapters of the previous fic. _

_All you really need to know is that Eliza White is the royal twin daughter of the late Queen Freyja of the Vanir. They are a race that inhabits not only parts of Asgard but also all of Alfheim/Vanaheim. They rule over the light elves. Eliza's powers are magic, like Loki, and she also has telekinesis, and very weak telepathy. Her twin sister Hnoss rules as steward of Vanaheim when Eliza is on Earth. Eliza shares a special father-daughter like bond with Clint Barton, and also saw Natasha as her mother figure._

_Directly before this takes off, Eliza is on the pro-registration side of the Civil War alongside Clint Barton, Peter Parker (her former boyfriend), Bobbi Morse, and Tony Stark. In the course of those battles against anti-registration Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Bucky Barnes, and others, she begins losing the people she held close. At the end, when Steve Rogers is killed (well, actually, he's been kidnapped by HYDRA, but only Fury, Nat, and Bucky know that), she reverts back to her nasty habit of cutting and, to recover, allows herself to be placed in therapy for the losses she's suffered._

_After the Civil War, Nick Fury entrusted Clint and Bobbi with the job of constructing a new team of Avengers to take up their place on the West Coast._

_I hope you enjoy this story! Trailers for it are linked from my profile. Reviews are always welcome!_

_Smile Always!_

_Silz_

**_Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel character whether he/she has appeared on screen or only in the comics_**

* * *

It was warm in California when Eliza White, Bobbi Morse, Clint Barton, Leo Fitz, Greer Grant, and Sharon Carter arrived at the airport from their private jet that SHIELD had provided them with. Eliza had spent the entire five hour flight staring out the window, trying to catch glimpses of the ground far below them. She still had yet to completely get over the death of Steve Rogers, but she was well on her way. She had another two and a half months of mandatory therapy she had to attend, all in the hopes that she would make a full recovery from the ordeals of the Civil War. She knew she wasn't alone though, as Clint had another month and Sharon another two as well.

She wondered what Peter Parker was doing at that moment. He had gone to live with his Aunt May at Avengers Tower with Tony and Pepper after Mary Jane Watson had been killed because of a hate crime aimed at Peter after he'd revealed his identity. No one had heard from Tony since that day at the Court house, at least none of the other former Avengers. He'd shut himself off from the world, locking himself into his R&amp;D labs at his tower and letting Pepper handle press conferences when they came up.

Natasha and Bucky had been sent out of the United States for their participation in the rebellion against the Superhuman Registration Act. Nothing had been heard from them either. Indeed, there was very little correspondence between the former Avengers. Bruce had at first remained in contact with Clint and Eliza, but since then he'd left Avengers Tower and disappeared off-grid.

It had been about a week and a half since Clint and Bobbi had received their orders to construct a new Avengers team for the West Coast. They had approached each member that they wanted for their team differently and separately. First had been Tigra, and she had readily agreed. Greer was eager to start over in a new city after her revelation to America that she, Greer Grant, former NYPD officer, was the superhero Tigra.

Sharon Carter, her heart still broken from the betrayal and then death of her boyfriend Steve Rogers, was hesitant to join them. She wanted to quit SHIELD, settle down somewhere in the country, and wallow in self-pity and misery, if she had been completely honest with herself. But she knew that she needed to keep herself busy or else her grief would consume her. So eventually, Sharon Carter, Agent 13, agreed.

Agent Leo Fitz, prodigy that he was, couldn't bear being anywhere near the East Coast SHIELD academy for Sciences. That was where his former best friend and almost-girlfriend was now teaching after being acquitted of her crimes during the Civil War. Fitz saw this West Coast Avengers team as an opportunity to get away and still work on his projects.

Finally, Clint and Bobbi had approached Eliza. She was still hurt from breaking up with Peter Parker in such a dramatic fashion, she blamed herself for Mary Jane's death, and she hurt from losing Steve and Natasha (one to death and one to exile). She had talked about returning to Asgard and then Vanaheim where she could rule her people as their queen alongside her sister Hnoss, perhaps even meet Thor's newborn daughter, but after being approached by Clint and Bobbi about the West Coast Avengers, she had agreed on one condition. She was allowed to return to Asgard and Vanaheim at her pleasure to see her sister and Thor.

Now, as the plane landed and they disembarked, Eliza couldn't help but feel a little excited. She'd never been to the West Coast! She'd grown up in London, and when she'd finally moved to the United States to join SHIELD, the farthest west she'd had to travel was to Illinois. Now she was setting foot on entirely new ground, and she was excited. She forgot for a quick moment about all the loss in her life. But only for a moment.

"Come on guys," Bobbi gestured as they were escorted straight from the plane across the tarmac to a SHIELD convoy limo.

A SHIELD agent got out of his bullet-proof car and went around to open the limo door for the party. Eliza thanked him as she got in, as did the rest of them. Their weapons were stowed in the car that was to go behind them. Their luggage was stacked in the car in front. Clint and Bobbi had already been to their new home twice to help with the move in. But Eliza, Eliza had never been to this new place.

They were calling it Avengers Academy. Avengers Academy was to be a safe-haven for young, superhuman teens and young adults alike to call home and hone their skills. It also served as a place to certify young superheroes after the Civil War. But it was equally so a SHIELD base for the West Coast Avengers. It had state-of-the-art security, top notch staff, and much else.

"Hey Clint, Bobbi," Eliza asked after several minutes of silence was spent inside the limo, "Any idea who the first students will be?"

"Yeah," Clint nodded, "I know of a few. Remember the Young Avengers we apprehended? Well they agreed to sign the act and now need certification to continue practicing as superheroes, so there's them. Fury told me that more will be coming too, but I'm not sure who."

"They probably aren't too happy about this arrangement," Fitz muttered.

Bobbi shrugged, "It's required by law now. There's no other way."

"I just can't wait to get my hands dirty in this new city. See if we can't improve the lives of the San Francisco citizens," Greer said.

Sharon agreed, "I intend to inspect the security of the campus first though. See if it really is all it's hyped up to be."

"First thing I'm doing," Eliza smirked, "First thing I'm doing is making sure you and Bobbi did a good job decorating my room, Clint."

Clint rolled his eyes, "We did a fine job, didn't we Bob!"

"Absolutely," Bobbi agreed with a smile.

The limo trip took about half an hour. Finally they arrived at the campus/base that would be home to the West Coast Avengers for the foreseeable future. The land had green grass that looked slightly sunbaked and the entrance was guarded with a large metal gate. The sign to the side said "Welcome to the Avengers Academy!" Eliza decided it was a rather inviting place, for a base at least.

They drove on inside after showing their IDs to the base security guard. They drove up to a drop off circle at the front of the building. The building was made of white and light brown stone, no doubt covering up some sort of super strong metal. There were two large, wooden doors that opened into the main hall. From the outside, the SHIELD school looked huge. Eliza was in awe.

"Avengers," nodded a man who stood at the top of the steps that led into the school base, "Welcome to the Academy. I am Mr. Dose. If you'll follow me, I will give you a tour of the school and the base."

"Thank you," Bobbi smiled and nodded, "What should we do about our luggage?"

"It will be transported to your rooms, do not worry," Mr. Dose assured them.

They followed the short, stout man through the great entrance way of Avengers Academy and he showed them the inner rooms. First stop was the student quarters. There were about fifty rooms, and each housed two students. There were going to be nowhere near that many to begin with, but as Fury had told them a few days ago, they were "planning for the future" in this case, not of America, but of the school.

After that they found their ways to the cafeteria. This was a very large room with a kitchen on one end for the kitchen staff to prepare meals. Most would be pre-cooked food that would be reheated, but there were to be hot breakfasts, lunches, and dinners as often as possible.

Next was the library. Very large and filled not only with physical books, but also StarkPads, computers, and charging stations for electronics. All sorts of tables and desks lined the room. The carpet was a pleasant red that reminded Eliza of the libraries of Asgard that she had visited often when the Avengers had gone to that land multiple times.

Once they finished with the library, they found the Avengers' sleeping quarters. They were above ground, unlike the students, whose rooms were below the first floor. Instead, these were along the outside of the base so that windows allowed for light to stream in. The rooms were rather spacious. Not the five room suits that they'd been accustomed to in Avengers Tower, but they had a small sitting room with a TV, a generous sized bedroom, and an adjoining full bath. Over all it was nice.

When they had finished the tour, they returned to the large lounge that was for the Avengers to hang out in. It had a pool table, an air hockey table, two TVs, a minibar, and three large couches. The wood floor had three green and grey rugs that complimented the light grey walls. It was a very modern look. Mr. Dose left them here to return to his duties as head of housekeeping.

"We have two days until the first students start arriving," Greer said, looking at her phone's calendar, "Plans before that?"

"None," Clint shrugged, "Honestly, I have no idea what to do."

"Did you look into bringing Professor Xavier out here for a little while to teach us how to run the Academy," Eliza asked him and Bobbi.

Bobbi nodded, "We asked. He said he might come out in a few days to help us, but that he's too busy right now back at the Institute. He did talk about sending us a student though, someone who knows the ropes of being in a school for gifted kids and might be able to keep the kids in line."

"Who?"

"Laura Kinney? Professor X said you know her," Bobbi told Eliza.

Eliza smiled, "Yes I do! That would be wonderful. When is she going to come?"

"No later than when the others arrive," Clint said to her.

Eliza smiled. Laura Kinney. Also known as X-23 to those who didn't know her well. Laura was an interesting girl. She was almost fifteen, and had grown up first in Weapon X, then in HYDRA, and finally in a terrorist mutant group calling themselves the Mutilators. But she'd joined up with the X-Men's school no more than three months ago after Eliza and the Avengers had rescued her from the mutant terrorists. She was a troubled child, a girl who had difficulty handling her emotions. She cut. She had psychotic breakdowns. She would lose control sometimes. But most importantly, she was getting better. Eliza looked forward to seeing her.

The West Coast Avengers hung out with each other for a few hours, watching TV, playing video games that they found in the lounge. They had fun, something they hadn't done for many weeks since during and after the Civil War. But how long would the peace last?

After all, soon enough there would be kids in the house.


	2. The Students

_A/N: Here're the students! Also don't forget to check out Sleep of Death, the other Changeling sequel._

* * *

"This is a bunch of crap," America Chavez groaned as they disembarked from a SHIELD plane in the San Francisco airport.

Kate Bishop snorted, laughing at her friend's annoyance. Of course, none of them were looking forward to any of this. It had been a bit awkward on the plane because there were three new kids, in addition to their team.

Billy and Teddy had sat side by side on the plane, and even now stood by one another. They were a bit younger than Kate and America. The two girls were eighteen, but Billy and Teddy were about sixteen years old. Cassandra, or Cassie for short, had just turned fifteen. They worked together well as a team, and weren't exactly looking forward to meeting new kids.

Well that wasn't entirely true. Kate was kind of looking forward to it. She liked people. On the airplane, she and Cassie had gotten to know Klara Prast, a girl who could control plants. She was seventeen and loved the color green, according to what she'd told them.

Billy and Teddy had gotten to know the boy, Dante Pertuz, an Inhuman whose powers had been activated during the detonation of the Terrigen Bomb. He was sixteen too, and the three of them quickly became pals. Billy and Teddy loved meeting new people.

But then there was that other girl. The one who was fifteen and sat at the back of the plane and didn't speak to anyone. The one who had adamantium claws. Kate didn't even know her name, just her codename, X-23. She was decently pretty, but had a hard exterior. Kate wondered what her problem was.

They were marched across the tarmac and got into a large SHIELD truck. They sat in the back. X-23 sat far to the left in the corner, staring out the window. America also was looking out the window, trying to get a glimpse of California. Kate refrained from chuckling, but she knew the truth. America, however much she pretended to be annoyed, was actually kind of looking forward to receiving training from the Avengers.

"So, what's your name," Cassie asked X-23 as they sat next to each other, eager to bridge the awkward gap between the Young Avengers team and this mysterious mutant.

"Laura. Laura Kinney," she said matter-of-factly, "And you are… Cassandra Lang, correct?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "but I go by Cassie."

Laura nodded, before turning back to the window. Cassie shrugged at her teammates and went back to talking with Klara Prast.

The trip didn't take more than half an hour. Soon they arrived at big, beautiful metal gates and drove on in. They all turned to the windows now to catch a glimpse of their new home. It was huge, awe-inspiring, really. When they were allowed off in the traffic circle at the front of the large institute, they disembarked while staring at the wooden mahogany doors that led the way into their new abode.

At the top of the steps stood a woman with furry, striped skin and a young woman not much older than America or Kate. Both had smiles on their faces, but really only the young woman's seemed particularly inviting.

"Eliza," Laura actually smiled, walking forward.

"Hey girl," this… Eliza grinned, coming forward and hugging the younger teen.

"Welcome, all of you, to the Avengers Academy," the striped woman said, "I am Greer Grant, but you can call me Ms. Grant, or Tigra."

"And I'm Eliza White. Please, call me Eliza. After all, I'm barely older than some of you," the blonde girl said.

The Young Avengers suddenly remembered who Eliza was. She'd been with the Avengers when the Young Avengers had been apprehended. She'd fought Wiccan!

"Come on," Eliza said, "Follow us! We'll get you situated inside and you can meet the others."

Grabbing their duffle bags and suitcases, the teenagers followed Eliza and Tigra inside and down the large opening hallway. They were astounded as the size of this place. It was gigantic! Eliza began telling them all about the house.

"If you go down that hallway," she pointed to the left, "There's an indoor pool and exercise equipment."

Even America looked a little excited. They'd never had this kind of space before. They'd had to hide who they really were from their parents and act like normal kids. But now, now this was all theirs. Well, mostly.

"Your sleeping quarters are this way," Tigra motioned for them to follow down a hallway that branched off slightly to the left and down some stairs, "All student rooms are below ground for safety reasons. Instructors' rooms are on this first floor if you need any of us."

When they finally reached the hallway where the students would be staying, Eliza remembered something.

"We almost forgot," she said excitedly, "Here are your ID cards. They will beep when you're needed, and will display the location that you are being called to. It also displays the time, and has your picture and identification on it. Keep these with you at all times."

She handed them out to each student. Billy looked at her quizzically. This is the woman he had fought with, yet here she was being all kind to them.

She sighed, standing back once everything had been handed out, "I know I fought some of you during the war, but that was my job. Please don't hold it against me."

"If you need any of us, we'll be upstairs. For now, settle in and unpack. Make a shopping list so we can go out with you and purchase what you need," Tigra stated.

Eliza and Tigra left the Academy students by themselves to find their rooms. Since there were only a few students at the moment, no one had to share bedrooms. The girls found their rooms on the right side of the hall and the boys on the left.

Kate opened the door to her room and flipped on the light. There was a small but full bath attached to her single dorm-style bedroom, which served as the connecting and shared bathroom for her and America, who was next door.

The rooms were all rather spacious, bigger than a college dorm room by a lot. They had two of everything, including two large, full size beds. Everything was a boring white color, with grey walls. Kate was confident, however, that given an hour at Target she would be able to turn this into a livable space!

All it needed was more purple.


	3. Schedules and Ground Rules

_A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read and/or reviewed! That means a lot to me! A huge thanks to **Miran Anders** for proofing the first chapter and **robbiepoo2341** for proofing my interpretation of the Young Avengers. Both are part of the collab I'm doing (for more info, check out my profile. I highly suggest it!)._

_**Guest** \- Isn't Eliza an awesome name? A distant cousin of mine is named Eliza, which is how I was introduced to it._

_**RR17** \- So happy to see you here! A carry over from The Changeling! Glad to see you!_

* * *

The students received an incoming instruction on their ID card to meet upstairs in room 8. They wondered where that was. Kate pulled up a map of the campus on her computer in her bedroom and looked for room 8 on floor 1. She found it quickly, as it was a large, open auditorium-style room.

"You coming, America," Kate called from the shared bathroom as she brushed her dark hair.

America rolled her eyes as she sat putting on her shoes, "'Course I'm coming! I'm not stupid!"

Kate grinned and left her room, putting a purple headband in her hair. America walked out her own door at the exact same time. Together they turned and went down the hallway, finding themselves trailing behind Laura Kinney. Behind America and Kate followed Billy, Teddy, and Dante. And behind them were Cassie and Klara. They were all still wearing their travel clothes, as they'd only arrived about an hour ago.

Laura was looking forward to seeing Eliza again. They'd seen each other briefly upon arrival, but then the sorceress had gone back to hang out with the West Coast Avengers while Laura had remained in her new bedroom. She hoped that she would be able to spend more time with her now. She had some interesting things to tell Eliza about life back at the Institute.

She walked up the stairs and down another hallway before turning left into a large room. It was very big, with a raised stage on the end. Circular cafeteria-style tables sat near the stage on the floor. The students quickly filled in these, curious to know what the Avengers would have to say.

"Welcome," Clint nodded, "I'm Agent Clint Barton, and this is Agent Bobbi Morse. We're the leaders of the West Coast Avengers."

America looked at them skeptically. After all, Clint still had a small bruise on his face from where she'd punched him about three weeks ago during that big, final fight of the Civil War. He was pretty weak. But then, she supposed his skill set was the same as her own friend Kate's, probably even more proficient. So she could respect his skills somewhat. But this Agent Morse? She'd not shot America when she'd had the chance. A real fighter would have done the deed. It's not like it would've hurt America. She was pretty much immune to bullets. But she supposed it showed restraint on Bobbi's part. Something important in a leader.

"This is Ms. Greer Grant," Bobbi took over, stepping forward while gesturing to the tiger-woman, "She will be instructing you in hand-to-hand combat."

Greer nodded to Bobbi, "Training exercises start tomorrow, with mine. 8 AM sharp in the Folgier Room."

"Then we have Agent Sharon Carter," said Clint as he pointed to the blonde agent wearing a white SHIELD suit, "She will co-teach blades and blunts."

"Agent Fitz," Eliza smiled, "he will handle engineering aspects of life here. You will learn plenty from him."

"Finally we have Agent Eliza White," Bobbi nodded to the young blonde woman who stood in her black and blue SHIELD suit, "She will teach specialties. This includes magic for Billy Kaplan and Pyrokinesis for Dante Pertuz."

"What are the two of you teaching," Klara asked the West Coast Avengers team leaders.

"Oh yeah! I'm handling guns and bows," Clint told the kids, "And Agent Morse is the other teacher for blades and blunt weapons."

"You will be receiving your schedule for classes tonight at dinner," said Bobbi, "Dinner will be at 6:30 in the cafeteria. Your ID cards have been loaded with money for you to purchase food there. You will be receiving a small SHIELD stipend for working with us here, something like 25 dollars a week, so long as you keep up your academic records with the online school, and you maintain good standing with the teachers here. It's always an option to get a job in town, if you have the time."

"Now, just to lay down some ground rules here," Greer stepped forward as Clint and Bobbi gestured for her to take the floor, "Powers can be used at any time, so long as they don't set the place on fire, blow a hole in the roof, or otherwise cause harm or damage to a person or the facility. But this isn't a place to restrict you. However, once you step outside this campus, your powers are not to be used, not even to prevent a crime. This is very serious. That's why you're all here- this is your chance to train and get certified to be superheroes."

"Another thing," Sharon added, "Ms. Grant and I are in charge of security here, BUT, if any of the faculty here tell you to stop doing something, you better stop. Or you get a punishment, like reduced pay."

"There will be volunteer guest faculty members visiting every so often, and it's very likely that we will get more students as we continue to operate. You are to treat everyone who walks in these doors as you would any stranger you meet on the streets. That means you treat them with respect," Greer continued after nodding to Sharon in thanks.

"Thanks Ms. Grant. Now, the fun part. Eliza and I will be taking you each out to buy décor for your rooms starting tomorrow after your first class with Ms. Grant, depending on each of your schedules. You will be given that schedule, as we said, tonight at dinner. Until then," Clint nodded, "You're free to wander around the facility or go back to your rooms."

The teenagers dispersed, leaving the faculty to depart as well. Eliza smiled, "Can I take Kate? She seems pretty chill."

"Yeah, sure," Clint nodded, "I'll take one of the boys."

"Did you see how America was grinning at you," Eliza laughed, "Probably at the bruise that's still there from her punch."

"She nearly fractured my cheek bone," Clint said in annoyance.

Eliza shrugged, "Oh well."

An hour later found the adults getting ready for dinner. Most had changed out of their suits that they'd put on that morning for the benefit of the kids. Eliza was in jean shorts and a white tank top with a blue three-quarter length sleeve button down over it. After all, it was warm in San Francisco in May. Her hair was back in a ponytail. The others were similarly dressed for the warmth.

Eliza and Sharon were the first to head down to dinner. The kids were set to arrive down there soon and in fact a few were already there when they arrived. Cassie and Klara sat together at a table, one eating an apple and cheese, the other with chicken and fries.

Eliza walked over to them, a slip of paper in her hand for each.

"Here are your schedules for the net week," she told them with a smile, "After this, you will receive your schedules weekly over the computer. But we figured we give them to you personally the first time."

"Thanks Agent White," they both said before Eliza left them where they were and got herself some food.

Chicken and fries for her, too, she finally decided. She sat down with Sharon to eat, waiting for the rest of the kids to come in to the cafeteria. As each showed up, Eliza handed them their schedules.

America took a look at hers. Tomorrow would start at 8 AM in hand-to-hand with Ms. Grant. After that she had three hours free time to either work on school work or do whatever the hell else she wanted. She compared that first part of her schedule with Kate's. Kate also had 8 AM hand-to-hand, before having 9 o'clock blades and blunts. Finally at 10 when that was over, she was supposed to meet up with Agent White to go shopping.

"But look here," Kate pointed out to America, "We have the same free time from five to six!"


	4. Therapy

_A/N: This chapter is mainly about Eliza, and is a little darker than in the past few ones. Now, trying to remember who reviewed because my reviews aren't showing up..._

_**Treefrog** \- Yay! Another carry-over! I'm so glad you're here! I hope you enjoy this one, and I recommend at least trying the other one because it won't be dark forever. Just for a little while. I'm going to be introducing two new characters in Sleep of Death later on that are going to be important to the plot of the entire Elizaverse. But if not, I'll clarify things before that happens._

_**Guest** \- Welcome to the Elizaverse! Pairings in this fic are limited, and right now consist of Teddy/Billy and that's about it. I have plans for Clint/Bobbi later on. Clintasha, in this fic, is only in memories and flashbacks. Eliza's romance with Peter is most definitely over for now. Sharon only had eyes for Steve and he's "dead". And the others don't pair up with anyone._

_**CC** \- OH MY GOSH GUYS IT's Canuckle! She's literally amazing, so go check out her stuff. But anyways, yes I do have Laura in here, and YES she is SO fun to write. I've written her in The Changeling, and that was cool. I like dealing with her darker side. Tigra, too, is awesome._

_Without further ado!_

* * *

Eliza rolled out of bed the next morning ready to face the day. She went down to breakfast in the cafeteria and found that a few kids were up and eating. She spotted Bobbi and Clint eating together at a table along the wall. A two person table. Eliza looked at them suspiciously from behind her glass of milk as she walked over to pay. What were they up to?

The worker looked at her choice of breakfast. Three pancakes, two biscuits, milk, chocolate chips for the pancakes, and a side of eggs and bacon. Eliza hid a smirk.

"Don't judge," she laughed finally as the woman looked at her again after punching in the numbers, "I have a fast metabolism!"

The woman smiled and shook her head, "I'm not judging!"

"Yeah you are."

"Okay," she laughed, "I was. A little bit."

Eliza chuckled as she walked away. Taking a quick peek around, Eliza spotted Laura sitting by herself at a booth. She headed on over and sat down across from the troubled teen.

"How are you this morning, Laura?"

Laura looked up from her breakfast, "Fine. Yourself?"

"Tired," Eliza admitted with a smile, "I have therapy in a little while during your training period at eight. Doc Samson, Bruce Banner's old psychiatrist, is helping us out here at Avengers Academy. After all, Clint, Fitz, Bobbi, and I all have orders to attend therapy for various lengths of time. You might consider seeing him, too. After all, he's going to act as the students' counselor."

Laura shrugged, "Maybe."

"Ah come on," Eliza poked the younger teen, "You must be at least a little excited to be here. Don't act all aloof like you usually do!"

X-23 glared at her.

Eliza laughed good-naturedly. She ate her pancakes in silence after that before Laura finally broke the comfortable quiet.

"I almost forgot," she nodded, pulling something out of her pocket, "Kitty wanted you to have this."

Eliza took the slip of paper from her. It turned out it wasn't any regular printer paper image, but a photo that would fit in her wallet. In it was a photo of Kitty, Kurt, and Logan. On the back it read "So you never forget us."

Eliza got a little choked up. Forget them? How could she forget three of her best friends? Yes, she was now five hours away by plane instead of a twenty minute drive, but she planned on video-chatting with them. She still had her honorary X-Men membership card. She looked below the written message and saw that Kitty had drawn a picture of a purple dragon. Lockheed. Eliza smiled. Kitty was so funny.

"Thanks, Laura."

"They really do miss you, Kitty especially. They were frightened for you during the Civil War. Logan didn't agree with your position, but he was worried for you. Kitty and Kurt were undecided about which side they would be on."

Eliza nodded. She knew Logan wouldn't agree with her pro-registration tendencies.

"Why were you pro-registration, Eliza? Why?"

Why? Why had she been so adamant in registration that she'd allowed her family to split up? Her little Avengers family? Why?

"Because, I thought it was right. The people had signed an Act into law and it was our job to uphold the peoples' wishes."

"Thought? You no longer agree," Laura pressed.

Eliza stared at Laura sadly, "I don't know anymore, Laura. That law is what led to the death of my close friend. Steve would still be alive if it weren't for that stupid Act. But then, it was what the people wanted. So we had to stand up for it."

She glanced at her watch. 7:55. Almost time for her therapy session. She met with Doctor Leonard Samson three times a week. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, it was her job to get her butt into his office and chat for a while.

She knocked on the door to Doc Samson's office that had been relocated to the Avengers Academy. He told her to come in through the door, and she opened it carefully. Walking inside, she found him reading a book while sitting on a comfy brown chair in the corner of the room. She took her seat on a neon green beanbag chair that sat opposite him. Of course, she could have taken the couch, but she liked bean bag chairs better.

"Good morning, Eliza," he smiled at her warmly, putting down his book after marking the page with his bookmark.

Eliza smiled back sadly, "Good morning, Doc."

"You seem sad," he tilted his head, "What's the matter."

"Someone just got me thinking about Steve's death again," Eliza said, her eyes tearing up.

"Ah," Doc Samson nodded, "I see. What about his death?"

Eliza remembered it like it was yesterday. Getting the news.

_"Steve's dead! Steve's dead!"_

She closed her eyes, trying to rid it from her mind. But she was unable to.

_"-8 o'clock this morning. Casualty rates are rising by the minute. But one confirmed death is Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America. Rogers was shot by a sniper and then shot again by someone with a pistol at close-range."_

Eliza gripped the beanbag in her hands. Doc Samson spoke to try and get her out of the trance.

"Eliza. Look at me. It's natural for you to have these feelings. These flashbacks are heightened by your limited telepathy. You feel differently than most people."

"Why," Eliza all but screamed, her eyes still closed, "Why me?!"

"Remember, you aren't alone," Samson reminded her, "Clint, he's going through the same things. He just copes differently than you. Speaking of coping…"

Eliza looked at him and nodded slowly.

"I haven't cut in two days, Doc. Which is good, I suppose."

"Your last episode," he began, "When did it take place? What were you thinking about?"

"It was two nights ago. I was thinking about the Civil War. I was thinking about how I let Peter down. Because of me, Mary Jane is dead and he has to live in fear at Stark Tower with his aunt. He lost his job. He lost his friends. All because of me."

"Eliza, it was not your fault that Peter Parker chose to reveal his identity. That was entirely his choice to make."

"I know. But my brain doesn't seem to remember that in the dark of night when I'm all alone with just my thoughts to accompany me."

Doc smiled at her, "I know. It's difficult. But we'll get through this. Together."


	5. Right on Target

_A/N: OMG DAREDEVIL. SO FREAKING GOOD. I binge-watched episodes 1-4, and then my Netflix went down :(_

_**CC**__ \- Yeah, it's been altered by Eliza's presence in the 'verse. Makes things a bit complicated because it doesn't quite follow any Comic line or Movie line. Sort of blends the two and makes alterations._

_**Swifte**__ \- I love Bobbi so much. Glad you found this piece! She will feature heavily, especially when the WCA start running missions again and not just do school stuff._

_**RR17**__ \- It was sad :( But this one is happier :)_

* * *

"Kate Bishop?" Eliza asked, coming into the lounge for the students.

"That's me," the girl nodded.

Eliza looked her over. She had on a purple headband, a purple shirt, and white shorts. She looked comfortable, if a little worn out from all the practice she'd done so far that day. Kate was sitting on the couch in front of her laptop, but looked up at Eliza when called.

"Time to take you shopping," Eliza smiled.

They hopped into a car. Eliza had spent some time learning to drive a few months ago during a lull in the fighting, so she drove herself and Kate. Kate got into the car without any comment, climbing into the front seat beside Eliza.

"So how old are you, Kate," Eliza asked her.

"Eighteen," Kate smiled, "And you're what?"

"Nineteen. Twenty in December. But that's a ways away," Eliza smiled at her as they drove down the long campus driveway. Kate looked at her in surprise. Eliza was barely a year older than herself!

"So, where are we going," asked Kate.

"I thought Target," Eliza told her, "Plenty of stuff on sale what with the school year coming to a close for college students."

It was true, Kate figured, that most college dorm stuff would be on sale. She was kind of excited about this! She had had one year left in high school, and in fact was supposed to be graduating end of May, beginning of June. That was about a month from now. But of course the whole "Civil War" thing had put a halt on her plans. Hopefully with these West Coast Avengers at the Avengers Academy she would be able to finish up her schooling and get certified as a superhero. Until then, though, she would make the most of things.

They arrived at Target pretty quickly. Eliza parked the car and grabbed her purse from the back seat. Kate got out as well, rubbing her palms together in expectation.

"Shall we," Eliza smiled as they walked through the parking lot, "You have a limit of three hundred dollars."

"Three hundred," Kate gaped, "Seriously?"

"What," Eliza looked confused, "Too little?"

"No, no," Kate shook her head, "I was just surprised. After all, you have like twelve kids to furnish. That adds up."

"Well, _SHIELD_ _is_ funding us," winked Eliza as they walked into the store through the automatic doors, "They got the money."

"True," Kate nodded with a smile.

The two women walked through the store, perusing the alleys. Eliza herself was here to buy some stuff too so they both grabbed carts. Eliza's room had been furnished well enough, but the game room? It was all computerized stuff. Eliza decided to buy some hands on games, old fashioned ones like Monopoly or Scrabble. Her personal favorite though was Apples to Apples. They'd played that a couple of times, she, Nat, and Clint, when Eliza was still recovering from her life on the streets. It had kept her active and began connecting her to the two SHIELD agents. For several years, almost four now, the three had been inseparable. All that was gone now, though.

Eliza shook herself from her stupor. She turned to see Kate looking at the bed spreads. There were many choices, and in the end Kate chose a purple one- go figure- with birds and tree branches in white on it. It was quite pretty!

Next up were pillows.

"But the school has pillows," Kate looked at her in confusion.

"Girl," Eliza laughed, "You haven't tried sleeping on them for more than a day. Those are crap. You need good ones if you plan to sleep for more than a week."

"Whatever you say, boss," Kate agreed happily, grabbing two new pillows.

Eliza threw on a third, "You never know when you'll need another one."

They bought purple pillowcases, top sheets, and bottom sheets. Eliza insisted they get some prints of white bird silhouettes to hang on the walls because they matched the bed spread.

"Do you have toothbrush, tooth paste, hair brush, those kinds of things," asked Eliza.

Kate nodded, "My sister made sure I got them from home."

"Cool. Then next stop, the food aisle."

"Why," Kate asked in confusion, her face plastered in a frown as she tried to figure out Eliza's play.

"Um," Eliza looked at her like it was obvious, "Your lounge needs some NON health foods. Have you looked at it recently? Carrots, apples, bananas. You need some cookies or chips for late night snacks!"

Kate laughed again, "Right again, Agent White."

"Now come on!"

* * *

When they got back to the Academy, Greer Grant was waiting for them in the foyer to help carry things in. Mr. Dose also was there and took the brunt of the baggage from the women. He claimed it was his job. Together they were able to make it in one trip. Eliza took her stuff to the Avengers' lounge while Greer, Kate, and Mr. Dose went down to the level below ground to deliver the rest.

Eliza looked at her watch. 4:55. She had five minutes until her next class with Billy Kaplan. She was going to evaluate his powers and see what she could help him with. Running to her room, she changed into training clothes and ran back to the training room she was assigned to. Billy was waiting for her outside the door.

"Sorry I'm a tad late," she apologized, "I was out shopping with Kate."

"S'okay," Billy nodded.

Typing in her keypad numbers to the right of the door, she unlocked it and the two went inside. The lights automatically turned on, revealing a large space with some kind of metal floor and metal walls. It was a tall space too, with a skylight in the ceiling that stretched far across the top.

"So," Eliza said awkwardly as she shut the door, "I'm Eliza. I'll be your instructor in magic."

"Thanks," he nodded, equally as awkwardly.

Eliza smiled, "Apparently I'm the "goddess of magic" or whatever that means. So listen carefully."

Billy looked at her skeptically.

"It was a _joke_," she said with a small frown, "I mean, I _am_ the goddess of magic, according to Loki, but I'm still learning my powers."

Billy nodded, "So you knew Loki?"

"Knew him," she smiled sadly, "Yes I knew him. He taught me much of what I know."

"Wasn't that.. um… dangerous," Billy pointed out.

Eliza thought back to her times training with Loki. Yes, it had been dangerous. She had been so stupid to trust him. She'd thought she could outsmart and outtrick the trickster god, but she'd of course been wrong. Alas, he had overcome her, tricked her at last. Handed her over to OSCORP for genetic testing and brainwashing. That hadn't gone well.

"Yeah, it was dangerous," she agreed, "And it was stupid. Don't ever trust a wanted criminal."

Billy snorted a laugh, "Thanks for the advice."

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. Eliza stood back.

"So," she said, "Show me what you can do."


	6. Midnight Meeting

_A/N: Kind of another sad one, but remember, these characters have just been through uber traumatic experiences, losing their Captain and splitting the team apart. So hey, it's only natural. Also tried to include more of Bobbi because I know she's a favorite of many of you readers (and me!). I had a cutting relapse last night, which might have influenced this chapter a little. But this isn't triggering, as there's no blood in this here chapter like many chapters of The Changeling. _

_Read, Review, and Smile Always, even when it's difficult!_

* * *

It was late that night when Eliza wandered into the main Avengers lounge. And by late, it was around 2 in the morning. Everything was dark, naturally, and the lights were turned off. The only illumination came from small lights that lined the hall floors. Why was she up so late? She wasn't sure.

Eliza was surprised to find Clint asleep on the couch holding a book. First of all, Clint wasn't that big of a reader, so that in itself was surprising. Secondly, it was two in the morning. But she smiled as she looked at him. It was an oddly cute sight, seeing her father-figure laying like that on the couch.

Coming into the room, she sat down on a comfy chair and took out her cellphone. She accidently opened the gallery app and her eyes drifted to pictures of her with the Avengers. There was one of her and Tony getting ice cream on 15th street. There was another of her and Bruce and Hank…

Oh Hank. Hank Pym. Eliza still felt guilty for letting him die. True, it was either save Hank or save Peter, but Janet… now she was all alone.

Janet! Suddenly Eliza wondered where the woman was! She had disappeared after receiving her pardon from the government. Liz was unsure as to where she had gone. She missed Jan. She missed the times that she and Jan and Darcy would spend with kid Loki and Leah. She wondered where Loki and Leah were. How Thor and his wife Jane were doing up in Asgard. She wondered whether or not baby Finna Rose had been born yet!

Then and there, Eliza decided to take a trip to see them soon. After all, they were only a Bifrost-trip away. They were just somewhere over the rainbow (bridge). She wanted to see her sister Hnoss as well. Visit Vanaheim.

A single tear dripped down Eliza's face as she thought about her home away from home. Vanaheim. The last time she'd been there, she and Peter had shared their most memorable kiss. It had been outside during the Festival of the Stars at night in Alfheim in the city of Vanaheim. The magical fireworks had been going off around them as the moons and stars aligned. It had been all very romantic. Now, as far as Eliza could see, she would never again share a kiss with her former boyfriend. Still, it would be nice to visit the land she was queen of. She'd obviously been neglecting her duties.

She wondered then how the Guardians were doing. They were probably alternating between robbing a city and saving a world. That tended to be how they rolled. She missed talking with Peter Quill at night in the cockpit of the Milano. She missed Gamora's "girl-talk" that wasn't really girl talk as much as it was warrior talk (but Eliza was oddly okay with that). She missed Drax's lack of talent with metaphors, and Groot's little phrases. She even missed Rocket's occasionally hurtful comments and dry humor. She didn't, however, miss Moondragon. After all the woman had invaded Eliza's mind!

Eliza missed everyone, but above all she missed two people. She missed Steve and Natasha. As far as she was concerned, both were dead to her. Steve, literally. Natasha, figuratively. Natasha hadn't answered any of Eliza's texts or calls, nor Clint's, ever since they had parted ways. She had left without saying farewell, not leaving even a note. In fact, it had been Fury who told the others that she had left with Bucky for Europe. That really hurt Eliza, deeply.

And Steve. Steve was gone forever. He was dead. It felt more real than anything she had imagined. She missed the good talks they would have, the trust she had put in him. She had felt saddened when he'd left to rebel, but she'd never imagined it would come to the death of him. Nor the death of any of them, for that matter! And he was gone. Gone.

She was crying softly now, remembering all she had lost. That's when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Want to talk about it?"

Eliza looked up at the face that the voice belonged to and found she was looking at Bobbi Morse. She had spoken in a hushed voice and when Eliza shrugged, wiping her eyes, she beckoned for Eliza to follow.

"Let's leave Clint in peace," Bobbi smiled, "I found this great little indoor courtyard the other day. Come on, I'll show you."

Eliza wiped her eyes again as she followed the older woman through the halls and around corners. Finally after a good three minutes of walking, they arrived at two heavy metal double doors. Mockingbird pushed them open and the two girls walked into a relatively large courtyard with lots of hanging bench swings and several large oak trees. A path was paved in red brick that reached from the entrance they had gone through to an exit on the other end. Eliza looked up and saw the night sky alight with stars and a large crescent Moon. It was as if there were no clouds in the sky.

Eliza and Bobbi sat down at the stone bench and Bobbi smiled slightly. The stone bench was cool to the touch. Eliza looked at the stars and then down at her feet.

"You miss them, don't you," Bobbi asked her quietly.

Eliza nodded, "Yes."

"That's natural. I miss Lance a lot," she said.

Suddenly they both giggled. Lance a lot… Lancelot! But they soon grew somber again.

"Whatever became of Hunter," Eliza asked her.

She shrugged, "I'm not really sure. I think he went back to doing mercenary work. Left SHIELD of course. Since he isn't superhuman, he didn't have to sign the Act once he was pardoned for his crimes. I've tried texting him, but he doesn't get back to me."

"What about Coulson?"

Bobbi smiled sadly, "Yes, I still keep in touch with Coulson and what's left of the team. I miss Jemma a lot. We had some fun times. But she's happier now working at the SHIELD academy than she would be with us out here. I don't think she could bear being around Fitz."

As it turned out, Fitz walked in at that moment.

"What are you girls talking about," he asked quietly, walking up to them.

Bobbi shrugged, "Girl talk."

"Well don't mind me then," he winked, sitting down on the ground a few feet from them to join them in conversation.

"What are you doing up, Fitz," Eliza asked in humorous confusion.

Fitz shuffled to make himself more comfortable, "Oh you know, same as you probably. Couldn't sleep."

"Actually, I was just checking on Clint," Bobbi shrugged. "Then I ran into Eliza."


	7. An Old Friend

_A/N: Back from hiatus! Was working on my collab chapter for In the End, You Always Kneel. Link to the AMAZING story is in my profile. Check it out!_

_Sailorraven - Yeah, it pains me to._

_Aleksitupper - Maybe for Spidey. Yes to Loki and Hnoss and Asgard and stuff._

* * *

Cassie woke up the next morning refreshed and ready to face the day. She stretched as she sat up in her bed. It was almost seven o'clock. Pushing her covers back, she got out of bed and walked over to her closet. Cassie pulled out some jean shorts and a tee-shirt. She got dressed quickly.

On her way out of her room she was sure to grab her ID card, just in case she was called somewhere. She made her way up the stairs to the cafeteria. It was bustling with activity as the workers set out the food and some of the others sat eating or paying at the cash registers.

Cassie placed her cellphone at a table near a window and went to get food. The smells of the cafeteria filled her nose. There were freshly made pancakes, waffles, and French toast. There were eggs and bacon. At one side was a cereal station. Cassie decided to get the French toast today.

"French toast please," she asked the worker behind the hot-food counter.

The woman nodded and plopped three French toast triangles onto a plate.

"Syrup?"

Cassie nodded, "Please."

The woman added syrup to the meal before handing it over to Cassie Lang. Cassie took it gratefully and walked over to grab a small milk from the refrigerated drinks. Finally once everything was on her tray, she proceeded to the check out. Klara Prast was right in front of her.

"Hey Klara," Cassie smiled at the red-head, "How are you this morning?"

"Fine," Klara nodded, "I slept like a baby. How about you?"

Cassie shrugged, "It was okay."

"Where are you sitting," asked Klara after she finished checking out.

"By the window over there," Cassie pointed.

Klara nodded and headed over to it.

Cassie stepped up to pay and got out her card. After the cashier rung everything up, she swiped and paid. She picked up her tray and followed Klara over to her table. The view out the window was nice; it was right out into a courtyard with flowers and trees and benches. Cassie had yet to go out there. She wanted to though!

Klara looked at her new friend curiously. She wondered what was wrong, be obviously something was. The way Cassie carried herself was defeated, even if her mouth spoke words of happiness. What was wrong? She didn't want to just come out and ask; she didn't feel they were at a point in their friendship where she could do that yet. But she wanted to know, to help perhaps.

"So, did your parents give the okay for you to come here," Klara asked her as they both started digging into their food.

Cassie stopped chewing momentarily before she continued, "Not really. I mean, I haven't seen my dad in almost a year. I live with my mom and step dad. They were furious when they found out that I had been secretly taking Pym Particles to become a superhero like Wasp."

"You looked up to Wasp?" Klara asked her.

"Yeah," she nodded, "I did. Still do. I wonder where she's gone off to?"

As it turned out, that answer was soon to come forward. For late that evening, the West Coast Avengers were sitting in their lounge, playing cards and drinking wine and beer when they received a message from Mr. Dose that a guest was being escorted to their location.

"Any idea who it is," Eliza asked her friends in confusion.

Clint shook his head, "Not a clue."

They waited a few minutes until someone knocked on the door to their location. Clint told them to come in through the frosted glass door. The figure opened the door and came inside.

"Hi guys," said a small, tired woman's voice.

"JAN!"

Eliza jumped out of her seat and ran over to the petite woman (who someone was still taller than Eliza), hugging her tightly. Eliza drew back and held Jan's hand with a grin.

"Hey Jan," Clint smiled, "Good to see yah. We wondered where you'd gone off to."

"That's a long story," she sighed, "It is good to see you guys."

"Come on, sit down," Eliza insisted, pulling her to the couches.

Jan took a seat and closed her eyes as she rested for a few seconds.

"Nice place you have here," she commented finally as she opened her eyes and felt the couch with her hands, "What are you calling it? Avengers Academy or something?"

"Yeah," Eliza nodded, "Avengers Academy."

"Where are the students," Jan asked them.

Greer had no idea, "Probably in their lounge. I bet they aren't in bed yet."

"You're Tigra, right? Ms. Greer Grant," Jan asked the striped woman.

"That's correct," Greer nodded, shaking Jan's hand, "Nice to meet you Mrs. Pym."

"Jan will be fine," she insisted.

Hearing a loud noise outside the door, they were slightly surprised when Leo Fitz came in to the room. He looked slightly disheveled and pale. It was almost like he'd been scared by something!

"Those kids," Fitz all but spat, "Are nuisances!"

"What'd they do," Sharon asked him.

Fitz glared at no one in particular.

"I was minding my own business, going into a supply closet to get some pieces for my project. But when I opened the door, a broom shaped like a monster flew out at me!"

Eliza burst out laughed. That was hilarious! She wished she had been there to see it. To see Fitz's face.

"They're teenagers," Bobbi smiled, "What did you expect? And they're SUPER teenagers, at that."

"Mrs. Pym," Fitz looked at her in surprise, noticing the woman for the first time.

Jan smiled and nodded, "Hello Agent Fitz. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," he sighed, "I'm fine."

They all returned to small talk when Bobbi got a call from Fury. She stepped to the side and listened to what the Director had to say. When she was done she hung up and returned to the group.

"We're getting two new students tomorrow," she said, "Anya Corazon and Kamala Khan."

Eliza of course knew of Kamala. The girl had been on the opposing side of the Civil War, but beforehand had gotten to know the Avengers. She'd never met Anya, though.

"What are Anya's powers," she asked Bobbi.

"Spider-like. Apparently mystical in origin. They stem from a tattoo that was given to her when she was younger."

"So Jan," Clint turned to his friend, "Are you here for awhile then?"

"Actually, yes. I was hoping to join on as a teacher for the kids. I've been brought to the area because of the stuff I've been investigating since we last saw each other and the trail has led here."

"What was it you were looking into," Bobbi asked her.

Jan shut her eyes for a moment. It was painful to discuss, and she had no desire to tell her teammates just yet. She supposed they'd have to deal with that.

"I'd rather not say right now."

Clint nodded slowly, "We trust you. But if you need anything, come to us. Eliza can show you to a room."

The two women got up and Eliza nearly bounced out of the room and down the hall to where the adult quarters were.

"You'll like it here," Eliza smiled, "You'll see. It's kind of fun."


	8. Where Are You

_A/N: This is another sad chapter featuring Eliza and Clint, mostly. I PROMISE, next chapter will be classroom time! I'm really excited for it. But I didn't have the heart to write anything but a depressing chapter tonight... sorry guys. You know me, I have my ups and downs, and this is usually reflected in my writing._

_**CC**__ \- I love Jan too! Hank was in The Changeling, but he was killed later on in that fic. But I've always loved Jan so she stays!_

_**Swifte**__ \- Bobbi's in here too! Just a small bit, but she's here!_

_**Sailorraven**__ \- Haha, it was inspired by a scene from Season 1 Agents of SHIELD :)_

_**leanne97**__ \- WOOHOO! I LOVE JAN TOO! As for our Pizza ship, maybe... maybe not ;) This chapter explores that a little bit and what the breakup did to Eliza as she was not at all prepared for it_

_**RR17**__ \- Glad you found time to review! I hope things slow down for you. Thanks again for reading!_

* * *

_Yeah you bleed just to know you're alive_

_And I don't want the world to see me_

_'Cause I don't think that they'd understand_

**Iris - Goo Goo Dolls**

* * *

Eliza lay in bed, tears staining her face. All she could think about was the fact that she'd lost three of the most important people in her life not that long ago. It was about a month ago that Steve had been killed and Natasha deported, and a month since Mary Jane's death had caused a rift between Eliza and Peter.

She missed Peter a lot. She thought back to one night they had spent in Asgard. It had been early in the morning, and she'd been reclining outside on the balcony. Peter had come outside and spoken to her.

_"You're up late- or, early, I suppose."_

_"Peter," Eliza smiled, without even opening her eyes._

_Peter Parker said nothing, but came and sat beside Eliza on another chair. They sat in silence for a while before Eliza turned to him with her big, beautiful grey eyes._

_"Do you love me, Peter?"_

_Peter didn't even need to think about it._

_"Yes. I love you."_

_"Good," Eliza smiled, turning back to the stars, "because I love you to. And it's nice to know someone out there loves you, you know? Especially when we put ourselves in danger every day for all these different reasons and to protect all these different people. Sometimes, I just need to know that someone loves me."_

_"Well, don't worry," Peter nodded, "I'll always be there for you."_

But he wasn't. He wasn't now. He had let her down.

_No_, she thought ruefully, _she had let him down._

But that didn't change the fact that she was without him. She was alone now. Sure, Clint was still here, but it wasn't the same. Clint was like a father to her, but Peter… Peter had been her very bestest friend. They'd been practically inseparable. He'd become part of the Avengers family.

_A family that no longer exists_, she reminded herself.

Shaking off her blanket and bedsheets, Eliza leapt out of bed and ran into her bathroom. Her face was wet with tears. She looked at her pale, white arms in disgust. She looked at her face in the mirror and glared. All this emotion was threatening to spill over into violence. She felt her skin crawling as she let her eyes fall on the shaving razor that lay on the sink. The tingling refused to cease as she slowly extended her arm towards it. Her hand clasped around the handle and she brought it towards her arm.

Then a knock sounded on the door of her suite.

The sound caused her to jump, and she accidently cut her palm. Eliza snapped out of the trance she had been in. She dropped the razor into the sink and wiped her face with a towel. It didn't do much good of course because her eyes were red and puffy from crying. But it made her feel better.

She ran to the door, trying to look as if she'd just gotten out of bed. Opening it, she was surprised to find Clint leaning against the wall across from her door with a suspicious look on his face.

"Clint," Eliza asked in surprise.

He raised an eyebrow as he took in her appearance, "You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," she waved her non-bloody hand in dismissal, "What about you? Did you need something?"

Clint looked at her again in suspicion. He eyed her closely up and down and noted she was hiding her left hand. Why…

"Show me your hand."

She held out her right hand.

Clint shook his head, "The other hand."

Eliza rolled her eyes and went to shut the door on him, but he held it open.

"Show me your hand."

Eliza started tearing up. She felt a weight pour down on her as she revealed her bloody palm. Clint stared at it and sighed. He took her by the arm and led her down the hallway to the infirmary part of the Academy. She cried softly the whole way.

"Come on. Wash it up," he ordered.

Eliza went to the sink and let the warm water wash away the blood. It was a smaller cut than she'd initially thought based on the amount of blood. It wouldn't need stitches or anything like that. But it would need a bandage. Her healing rate would heal it quickly, this was true, but her palms tended to take longer than any other part of her body. Her hands and feet, probably because of how far they were from her heart, took the longest. She didn't want to get blood on anything else until then either.

When she'd finished up, Clint wrapped it silently with white gauze.

"That should tide it over while your body heals itself," he told her quietly, "But Eliza…"

There was silence as she refuse to meet his gaze. Finally Clint continued.

"Eliza, I thought Doc Samson was helping you with the cutting. I thought you had it under control!"

"Well sometimes it just comes over me," Eliza snapped angrily, "Why should I justify my actions to you!"

Clint stared at her forcefully, "Because. I care. You know that, Liz."

"Peter told me that, too," Eliza said, half in anger half in despair.

Clint nodded slowly, "I know. And I know it hurts. Don't you think I miss Nat? I miss her so much. She was my other half. My partner, my fiancé. I miss her terribly. But you have to hold it together."

Eliza glared at nothing but finally nodded with a sigh, "I know."

"Good," Clint smiled lightly, "Come on. Bobbi and I are still up, hanging in the lounge. We came to see if you were still awake and wanted to join us. Do you?"

"Sure. But it's almost midnight. Why'd you think I'd be up," Eliza asked.

They began walking down the corridors and through hallways. There were very few hall lights on at all to light their way. In fact, they had to rely on the little LED lights that lined the floors to guide them. Eliza tried to count the number of doors they passed, but she lost track after forty-nine.

"I don't know. I just had this feeling," he shrugged.

She nodded back at him in acceptance of his explanation. Finally they reached the lounge and found Bobbi Morse there eating some chocolate and popcorn. When she turned to see who had come in, she smiled.

"Hey Eliza," said Bobbi, "What took you two so long."

"Nothing," Clint shrugged, "We're here now. That's all that matters."

* * *

_A/N: Flashback from The Changeling Chapter 203, Asgardian Thanksgiving._


	9. Class Time

_A/N: Sorry it took a while to update. Busy week at school. I wanted this to be a longer chapter, but i was so tired that I feel asleep while writing this so now it's pretty late. Therefore, the next chapter will continue this one closely._

* * *

"America, c'mon! We're gonna be late," Kate shouted to her friend through the door to America's room. "I'm serious, now. Get your butt out here."

"Oh shut up, would you," America growled loudly, pulling on her sneakers before finally grabbing her card and racing out the door.

It was after breakfast; the kids had all gone back to their rooms to get ready for class. The first class for the two friends on this Tuesday? Blunts and Blades with Agents Morse and Carter. It was one of the few classes that America and Kate had together. Other than that, they had different schedules until Engineering with Agent Fitz after dinner.

Each class lasted about two hours. They got one-on-one time as well as group training. The other student with them during this BB session (as they called Blunts and Blades) was Laura Kinney. Neither Kate nor America had really gotten to know Laura yet, despite Kate's best efforts. America had tried once… that was about it.

Kate and America walked through the hallways and took the stairs up to the ground floor where the training rooms were. They passed many rooms, including a training room where they peaked inside to find Cassie, Klara, and Dante practicing with ranged weapons. America glanced at her watch.

8:02. Damn. They were going to be late. At least it wasn't Ms. Grant's hand-to-hand class. She was a former police officer who had quickly earned a reputation for strictness and punctuality. Bobbi Morse and Sharon Carter were more understanding.

"Come on," America said, and they took off running until they turned the corner and walked into the room like nothing was wrong.

"You're late."

Agent Sharon Carter stood with her arms crossed and her legs spread for stability. Before her was Laura Kinney, who turned to look at the newcomers.

"Sorry," Kate mumbled, "But at least we're here now!"

Agent Carter rolled her eyes, "Fortunately, Bobbi told me she was running a bit behind. She should be here any minute now."

"Why's she late," America asked curiously.

Sharon pointed to the now-opening door as Bobbi came in followed by a girl with tan skin and chocolate brown, wavy hair. The girl wore a long-sleeved shirt with a lightning bolt, jeans, and sneakers. She smiled at the others.

"Sorry," Bobbi said to Sharon, "They were late getting in this morning."

"Everyone," Sharon gestured for the girl to come forward, "This is Kamala Khan."

"Hi," Kate said with a grin, "I'm Kate Bishop. This is America Chavez!"

"Laura Kinney," X-23 nodded in introduction.

Kamala smiled and shook their hands, "I'm Kamala. Nice to meet you all!"

"Are you a new student," Kate asked enthusiastically, as something about Kamala just sat right with Kate.

Bobbi responded affirmatively, "Yes she is. She will be joining you today in this class."

Kamala nodded, turning to face Sharon and Bobbi as class was to begin. The students lined up in front of the instructors and waited.

"Today we will be working on identifying different types of knifes and what they can be used for," Bobbi told them.

She went over to the wall and pressed several buttons. Out of the floor rose a rack of knives of different shapes and sizes, colors and designs. There were knives with long hilts and short blades, and with short hilts and long blades. There were double-edged blades, switch blades, you name it, it was there.

"But, some of us don't use blades," America pointed out skeptically.

"You never know when someone might disable your powers in some way," said a voice from behind them.

The students turned to find Eliza standing in the door way. She had on a small smile and despite her tiny frame, she looked a bit intimidating in her black and sky-blue skin-tight SHIELD suit and her hair back in a ponytail. Behind her stood Wiccan waiting for her.

"Sorry to interrupt," Eliza apologized to the other two teachers, "but Clint needs to see Kate for archery training. He's switched up the schedules now so his original class is taking Hand-to-Hand but he wanted to squeeze in a lesson for Kate before he has to head back to DC for a day or two."

Clint had gotten an order from Fury to return to the Triskelion early that morning. He was due to leave San Fran in about four hours but he had promised Kate that he'd observe her today before he got the order. So, he'd put aside his regular class and invited her to show off her skills to him.

"See you guys later," Kate smiled, "Nice to meet you Kamala. I'm sure we'll talk soon!"

Kate left the room and asked Eliza which room she was to go to.

"Training room four, right down the hall. Clint's gonna be a few more minutes. Just wait for him there."

Eliza and Billy Kaplan made their way to Training Room five, which was around the corner from four. It was a large space, large enough where they could practice magic with room to spare. Eliza unlocked the door with her pad combination and the lights turned on as they walked inside. This was her second training session with Billy since they'd arrived in San Francisco. He was powerful, that was for sure, but he had a lot to learn.

"What are we doing today," Billy asked her curiously as she shut the door behind him.

"Let's continue on the use of fire and ice. Those are two very powerful tools though they are basic."

Eliza stepped apart from him and pressed some buttons on the wall. The far wall turned into a wall with moving targets. Eliza knew Wiccan's magic was different from hers- his was word based. He would speak something into effect. It was a bit challenging to teach, if she had been honest with herself.

"Lettherebefire," Wiccan said, and fire formed around his hands.

"Good," Eliza nodded, "Now, hit the targets."

Billy shot his arms forward and sent a ball of fire at the wall. It struck the edge of a target just to the right, and Eliza nodded.

"Close. Good try."

She raised her own arms and flame encapsulated her fists. Throwing one arm forward, the fire flew straight ahead and struck a target dead center.

"Try again."


	10. Unpleasant Memories

_A/N: Sorry for the long delay (again) but I got sick over the weekend and then AP exams meant lots of studying on top of being sick and yeah, crazy. So anyways, here it is. Thought it'd be good to delve into one of the student's pasts. Tell me what you think in the reviews!_

_Also, plug for the AMAZING collab for Marvel/Hunger Games that I am so privileged to be a part of. **In The End, You Always Kneel** (link in my profile) is in full on posting mode. Three times a week, Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, our great overlord Nick of the Freelancer Collaboration posts a chapter. Right now, we're in the Capitol. My second chapter goes up next. Please, please, PLEASE check it out and drop a review for the amazing work these writers are doing._

* * *

"Ah, Kate," Clint nodded as he turned the corner and saw Kate Bishop standing beside a locked door to a training room. "Sorry to drag you out of Blunts and Blades. But I told you we'd do your assessment."

"No problem," Kate nodded.

Clint punched some numbers into the keypad and unlocked the training room. It was a longer room than others, used mostly as a shooting range as opposed to close up fighting styles.

Clint went to the wall and opened up an adjacent room that held all the ranged weapons. He beckoned for Kate to come inside with him.

Kate hesitated. She didn't like being in enclosed spaces, especially with men. It brought up bad memories. But she swallowed her fear and allowed herself to be led inside.

"The bows are on that wall," Clint pointed to the far wall where rows of different archery equipment was held.

"Got anything purple," she joked, trying to make herself less nervous.

Clint Barton was a good man, she told herself. He'd never hurt her. Would he? No. He was an Avenger. It wasn't like… like before.

Clint chuckled, "Nothing purple. If you want, we can put in an order for a custom bow based on whichever design you like. We can do better than that bow you brought with you. SHIELD's backing you this time around."

Kate took a step towards the bow when suddenly the lights went out. She gripped at the wall with her hand. The door slid shut. She jumped.

"Stupid thing," Clint muttered, "SHIELD isn't as good as Stark Industries when it comes to tech. We're having someone look at the electronics right now. Guess they had to shut it off."

Kate didn't say anything, she just groped around at the wall, trying to find a knife or a weapon of some sort. She was sure Barton had trapped her in here just to get her alone… just so he could… no. He wouldn't. Or would he?

"Hey Bobbi," Clint called her on his cell, "Can you go check that out? Kate and I are trapped in the armory of the shooting range. Can't get the door open 'cause it's set to automatically lock in emergencies…. Yeah…. Yeah thanks…. See yah."

Kate found a blade and she gripped it tightly. She moved to the corner of the room, ready to attack Agent Barton when he came at her.

"You alright, Kate," Clint asked in concern when she still refused to answer him.

Clint took a step forward as his eyes adjusted to the lack of light and he saw her in the corner. He was worried something had happened to her.

"Don't come any closer," she growled angrily. "I can handle you."

Clint was rather confused, but he held up his hand when what little light there was reflected off the knife blade in her hand. He slowly backed away, patting his side to check to make sure his own knife was in his pocket- just in case.

"What's up, Bishop," he asked her. "What'd I do?"

"Don't think you can fool me," she narrowed her eyes, "You tried to lure me in here, trap me here. But I've dealt with men like you. I'm stronger now. I can handle myself."

* * *

"Lettherebelight," Wiccan said, and a ball of yellow energy floated up from his palm into the room until it illuminated everything around him and Agent White.

Eliza nodded in praise, "Nice one. But watch this!"

Eliza smirked and closed her eyes. She began envisioning a swirling ball of yellow and blue light made of pure energy. It floated into the air and eclipsed the little yellow ball that Billy had made.

Wiccan looked at her in amazement, "That's beautiful!"

"Thanks," she nodded, "Queen Frigga showed me that one. I should take you to meet the great sorcerers of Asgard and Alfheim. Frigga, Hnoss, both would love to meet you. Loki and Leah, too. Though both are young, they are formidable magic wielders! Maybe someday I'll take you to meet Doctor Strange!"

"Who's he," Wiccan asked.

Eliza smiled, "He brought me back to life once. Greatest human sorcerer alive! Lives somewhere in Tibet. He might even be able to help you learn some stuff, too."

* * *

Kamala Khan was sitting on the floor next to America and Laura Kinney as Bobbi and Sharon were busy making phone calls. As far as they could tell, Bobbi was on the phone with Tigra, one of the only instructors not currently stuck in a training room. Sharon, for her part, was on with Fitz. He was working with the power company trying to get everything turned on again.

"This is so boring," America groaned.

Not to mention dark. The only light came from the cellphones they each carried that now were turned upwards so that the light illuminated the area around them.

Kamala shrugged, "My fanfic is up to 200 followers."

"Fanfic," America looked at her and laughed, "You write fanfiction?"

"Yeah," Kamala defended herself, "I was a huge Avengers fan, and then I became like them and it's made my stories a lot more popular."

America shrugged, "Whatever floats your boat."

* * *

"Listen," Clint said to Kate, "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. I'm only here to teach you."

Kate hesitated, slowly allowing her hand that held the knife to drop to her side. But she still held it, and wasn't about to let go of it any time soon.

About half an hour later, the power came back on and Clint marched Kate Bishop down to Doc Samson's office. He told her she wasn't in trouble, but that if she wouldn't tell Clint what was wrong, she would have to tell Doc Samson. She glared the whole way there but relented, realizing that Clint wasn't about to give up any time soon. In fact, she was lucky he wasn't doing anything more drastic- she had pulled a knife on him and threatened him.

Kate knocked on Doc Samson's door quietly. He told her to come in, and Clint left her alone once she went inside.

"Hi," she said nervously to the doctor that sat on a brown chair.

"Hello," he nodded, "I'm Doctor Samson, but most people just call me Doc. I assume that you are Miss Bishop?"

She said yes.

"Good, good. Take a seat!"

Kate Bishop sat in the neon green bean bag chair. She fidgeted with her hair as she waited for him to say something. She'd been to shrinks before, a long time ago. Right after… after it happened. She'd stopped going after several months.

"How are you feeling, Miss Bishop," Doc Samson asked her with a smile, "Agent Barton told me you had a rough time this morning?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

He sighed, "Would you like to tell me why?"

No.

"Fine."

She closed her eyes and began reliving the event in her mind. It was horrible. She hated it.

* * *

_Kate had spent the evening at her friend's house that night. She'd had a great time, but her dad had called her to come home. To her fourteen year old self, she felt it was rather unfair but she obeyed nonetheless. She walked through Central Park in the dark, listening to music on her phone. Music had become her solace after her mother died. Music and charity work. She liked doing charity work._

_As she walked through the park, she didn't hear the man creeping up behind her. He snuck up, ready to pounce. She was completely unsuspecting. Grabbing her from behind, he covered her mouth so her screams were silenced. Her earphones fell out of her ears as she dropped her phone on the ground, the device pushed out of her hand by the attacker._

_Now she was at his mercy as she was dragged away towards a group of thick trees. It was late, no one would be there to rescue her. She was at his mercy._

_And he made her pay the ultimate price._

* * *

As she related these events to Doc Samson, her eyes welled up with tears, but she had a defiant look on her face. She refused to show any kind of weakness other than the tears in her eyes. After all, she had come past all that.

"I took my pain and channeled it into doing good for other. I just don't like being alone with strong men I'm not used to," was all she said at the end.

Doc Samson nodded, "That makes perfect sense, Miss Bishop, perfect sense."


	11. Lounging Around

_A/N: Delay explanation: I was busy with my last week of classes, and then I went on retreat this past weekend. But now I'm back! Maybe less updates than usual this week because it's exams, but then I'm done with school starting next Monday!_

* * *

"Clint will be back in about three days," Bobbi told the other adults as they sat in their lounge later that night, "Something about learning of a new threat that we might need to handle while we're here. Fury wanted to brief him."

Eliza took a drink of her water. She wasn't technically old enough to drink yet and since their facility was being financed by the government, Clint and Bobbi had decided she wasn't allowed to drink wine with them anymore.

"Any idea what the threat is," she wondered aloud.

Bobbi shook her head, "Not a clue. How about you, Greer? Run into anything on your patrol last night?"

"Nope," said Tigra.

Greer Grant had gone on a midnight patrol of the city last night to take a look around their area. She'd been watching for gangs, trouble makers, and strange happenings. Anything that might be a threat to the city that was too much for the local police.

"Fitz," Jan turned to the only male member of the faculty that was currently in-house, "How'd training the kids go today?"

"Well enough I suppose," he shrugged, "They aren't very serious about engineering though so I don't know how much I can teach them."

"What about those two new girls," Jan asked Bobbi, "Anya and Kamala. I know Kamala of course, but how are we going to teach Anya?"

Bobbi looked side-long at Eliza before answering, "We have some ideas. But it could take awhile."

"What are her powers," Eliza asked the others, as she had yet to meet Anya Corazon, the girl who had arrived with Kamala Khan.

"She has spider-like powers," Sharon said as they all looked to see how Eliza would react.

Eliza stiffened. Spider powers. That hit a little too close to home.

"Oh."

Bobbi decided to change the subject, "So tomorrow, it's a Saturday. How do we want to handle classes? Do we let them have the weekends off?"

"I think so. Maybe have optional individual training sessions," Greer nodded to her, "Let them work on their other school work and have a little fun."

"After all," Eliza said excitedly, "The roof pool is finally operational."

"They'll like that, I think," Bobbi agreed.

The roof pool was impressive. It was, obviously, a pool on the roof. But it was impressive more because of the large glass enclosure around it. All the way to the ceiling, it was surrounded by glass. The windows opened up to allow air in, but the ceiling was solid glass panes which allowed anyone swimming to see the stars at night. It reminded Eliza of the pool at the old Avengers Tower.

"I figured we'd tell the kids tomorrow," said Eliza, "You know, make it a big announcement. Along with the opening of the game room."

The game room had also been completed the day before. It was a large, arcade style room with skiball, basketball games, board games, racing games, things like that. Eliza was proud of it. She'd been put in charge of organizing the room.

Soon people began to split off to return to their rooms. But Eliza ran to catch up with Janet as she walked down the hall to her room.

"Jan, I miss the others," she said quietly as Jan looked at her in surprise.

Jan nodded in agreement slowly, "So do I, Liz. So do I. I miss Darcy and Jane and Thor and Loki and Leah. I miss Natasha and Bucky and Bruce and Tony and Pepper. I miss everyone. But most of all, I miss Hank. But you know what, you learn to cope. That's something I've come to realize after Hank died."

"Does the hole in your heart ever go away," Eliza asked her.

Jan shook her head, "No. It does not."

* * *

"Quit it, Kate!"

"America, come on. Just one more movie!"

It was two o'clock in the morning of a certain Saturday in May in California. America was in Kate's bedroom. The two friends had just finished watching a movie about a spy named 007. It was the second movie they'd watched that night. But now America was done.

"How are you not tired?" America pointed at Kate.

Kate sighed in exasperation, "It's Saturday!"

"I'm going to bed."

America left Kate's bedroom and went back to her own. Kate didn't tell America the real reason she wanted to keep watching movies; when she closed her eyes, every horrible moment of all those years ago rushed back into her mind thanks to the flashbacks earlier the day before.

Meanwhile, Kamala was in her room working on her fan fiction story. It was about the Avengers of course, but now it almost wasn't fiction. She included many actual events in her stories, and she had dramatically improved from her days of rainbow fights and animal rescues. Now it was gritty, dark, and brutal stories where the Avengers became the victims of torture or fighting turned wrong. It was drastically different from the old days of her stories, and she was okay with that.

Anya Corazon was settling into her room, having had to borrow stuff from Cassie Lang who slept next door. Again she punched her pillow, trying to get it to fluff up. Cassie hadn't been joking when she'd said the pillows from the base were bad. In fact bad had been an understatement.

Cassie was asleep comfortably, but on the other side of her walls, Laura Kinney was texting a friend with tears in her eyes. Unwanted tears, at that. Ones that she hated feeling. She was texting Wolverine.

"You all really should come out here. Eliza would love to see you."

_"Maybe someday soon, kid, maybe. Kitty sure wants to go. Kurt too."_

"Then come! Why haven't you texted her yet? She thinks she's done something wrong. She told me so."

_"I'm just figuring some stuff out right now. How are you doing, Laura?"_

Laura didn't respond. How was she doing? She wasn't sure. She felt sad inside. A feeling she hated with a passion. She hated emotions in general because she simply was unaccustomed to them. The Professor had helped her for some time, but it still made her uncomfortable to feel.

_"If I text Eliza, will that make you happier?"_

Laura considered this. It would be a start she supposed. She didn't like seeing Eliza upset, it made HER upset in turn. So she told Logan that would indeed help.

"Talk to her."

_"I will. Now, go to bed."_

Laura smirked and turned off her phone, plugging it into her charger. She would sleep. Maybe sleep would help her restlessness and depression. If it didn't, she supposed she would have to do as Eliza suggested and go see this Doc Samson that was in-house. But she was not looking forward to that one bit. Not at all.


	12. Saturday Morning

_A/N: I'M DONE WITH SCHOOL GUYS. I'M DONE WITH HIGH SCHOOL FOREVER! Ehm. Sorry. Anyways._

_**CC-** Thanks! I can't wait to Wolverine shows up in person in this fic so you can read how I write him (but at the same time I'm really nervous haha). Love you!_

_Quick Note! Instead of setting up a separate fic for the Kid Loki/Leah/Thor/Jane/Finna Rose/Hnoss storyline, I'm going to have Eliza going back and forth between Asgard/Vanaheim and Earth soon. That way we get to see them in action. Hopefully you are all looking forward to that!_

* * *

When she woke up, it was to the sound of her phone's text alert. Eliza yawned and stretched her arms as she lay back against her pillow underneath her warm bed sheets. She unlocked her phone and checked her messages.

_"Felt like I should say hi or something. So. Hi."_

Eliza almost laughed at Logan's message it was so awkward. He wasn't the biggest texter in the bunch, she knew that much. Eliza was surprised it wasn't Kitty because she was the actual texter of the group. Granted, Eliza knew Kitty was busy tracking down new mutants as of late, so that was her excuse for not texting Eliza.

Eliza decided to respond immediately to Logan:

"Hi. How are you? I miss hanging with Kitty, so next time you see her, tell her I said hello! Also, how's the School? Are the Hellions still giving everyone trouble? Any word from Tony or Bruce or the others?"

A long message, perhaps, but full of important stuff, she decided. Eliza wanted to know so much about New York now that she hadn't been in nearly a month between living at the Triskelion and now here. The unspoken question, of course, was had Wolverine heard from Peter Parker? That's who she'd meant by "others".

Reading the clock on her phone, she saw it was 7:30 of Saturday, May 25th. She got up from her bed, grabbed her towel, and took a shower. She took comfort in the warm liquid that poured down her back and over her velvety skin. She washed her hair with a new citrus mint shampoo and took a half hour to blow dry it when she got out of the shower until it was straight, soft, and silky. Eliza decided to leave it down and wear a headband today.

After changing and pulling on some blue sandals that matched her light blue shirt and white shorts, she grabbed her keycard and stuck it in her pocket along with her phone. She trekked down the hall towards the cafeteria. It was almost 8:15 by now and she was starving.

Bobbi was similarly getting ready for the day. She scooted around her room trying to find her second sock when she stumbled on an old photo she'd brought with her. It was a picture of her and Clint, both as young agents, holding hands. Bobbi smiled sadly as she recalled those wonderful days before things had gotten complicated. And for a split second, she wondered if it could be that way again? After all, Romanoff was gone. But she shook her head. Clint was still grieving, though he didn't show it to anyone but herself.

Bobbi brushed her wavy blonde hair back and brushed her teeth. She looked at herself in the mirror. Bobbi was tall, skinny, but strong. She had a single freckle on her face. Her blonde hair had a golden shimmer to it as opposed to Eliza's bleach blonde hair. Bobbi observed her shirt and smiled. It had a flamingo on it. And her khaki shorts went very well with the rest of the outfit.

She sighed. No, for now things would remain the same. She would be Clint's sounding board. Maybe someday they could rekindle their long past romance, but that was not today. Nonetheless she would be there for him through thick and thin when he needed it.

Bobbi walked down the hall and into the cafeteria where she almost ran into Eliza after grabbing her food and standing in line.

"Good morning," Eliza grinned happily.

Bobbi smiled at her, "Already had your coffee?"

"A few sips," Eliza winked, as she hadn't paid yet.

Bobbi had her own cup of coffee in her hand as well as a bowl of cereal and a banana. She wasn't a huge breakfast person, but she had to eat. She looked at Eliza's plate and almost laughed. The girl certainly did have a big appetite.

Eliza went to sit with Laura Kinney. Bobbi wondered what their history was, as it was obviously there. But it wasn't her place to push for answers, not unless it was causing problems. For her part, Bobbi paid and then took her food to a nearby table where Greer and Sharon were sitting.

"Mind if I sit," Bobbi asked them.

Sharon rolled her eyes, "You don't need to ask, Bobbi."

Bobbi smiled and sat down next to Sharon and across from Greer.

"How'd you sleep," Greer asked, her tail twitching and momentarily distracting Bobbi.

"Fine," she replied after a moment, "You two?"

"Great," Sharon smiled.

Greer shrugged, "Well enough."

Bobbi wondered where Janet Pym was. Clint had asked Bobbi to make her feel welcome, and Bobbi was intent on doing so. The Wasp was a formidable ally and probably a good friend, at least according to Clint, so Bobbi wanted to help her adjust to life in California.

"Anyone seen Jan," she asked her two companions as they ate quietly.

"Not this morning, no," Greer shook her head.

Sharon was shaking her head but suddenly smiled, "There she is!"

Janet was coming into the seating area from the check out. She glanced around awkwardly looking for a seat when Bobbi caught sight of her. Bobbi waved her over.

"We've got an extra seat," Bobbi smiled, "Sit with us!"

Jan looked relieved, "Thanks."

Janet sat down next to Greer and dug into her breakfast of pancakes and eggs. She asked them how their sleep went and they told her their different answers. Bobbi then turned to Janet.

"So, Jan, how long were you an Avenger?"

Jan put down her fork to respond, "I joined after the Oblivion Crisis."

"That's when I joined up with Coulson's group," Bobbi smiled, "Funny how much that event changed everyone's lives."

"Agreed," Jan nodded.

Bobbi thought back to the Oblivion Crisis. It had been at least a year ago. Hela had unleashed her evil spirits on Earth and all of Earth's heroes had banded together to stop it. That was the Avengers' first encounter with the X-Men. It had been when Clint had proposed to Natasha. It had been when Bobbi had finally gotten closure for all those years of Clint refusing to admit his feelings for Nat.

And now things had gone full circle. The Avengers and X-Men now had little contact since the Civil War. Clint had broken up with Natasha. Bobbi had a chance to rekindle her romance. It was all very strange. Very, very strange indeed.


	13. Bad Girl Shenanigans

_A/N: I had so much fun with this chapter, haha! Hope you all enjoy it! As to whether or not I will be bringing Peter Parker into this... I don't know. Will I? Mayyyybe. Maybe not! _

_By the way, for those of you who've seen Tomorrowland, or for some reason like my writing enough to read another of my fics even if it's not Marvel, I've started a Tomorrowland multi-chapter fic. Find it on my profile. It's called **Tomorrow's Scribe**. It shouldn't interfere with my updating of these Marvel fics because school is out and I have tons of time. So never fear!_

_Live, Laugh, Love, Smile Always!_

* * *

Eliza had finished up her lunch and went down to the student lounge to talk to the kids. She knew that most of the students were there thanks to their ID cards which could be accessed by any of the adults in the Avengers Academy. She had an announcement for them.

She rounded the corner after taking the stairs down and walked up to the kids. Billy and Teddy were playing some kind of first-person shooter game on the Xbox while Dante watched. A girl with brown hair that Eliza had yet to meet (she assumed it was Anya) was talking with Laura as they sat playing cards on the floor. Kamala was sitting at a couch on her laptop. Cassie and Klara, who had fast become best friends, were sitting in armchairs and trading stories. When Eliza walked in, she stood watching them for a moment, wishing her life was as simple as these younger teens.

She cleared her throat, causing everyone to jerk around and look at her. Teddy paused the video game and Kamala shut her laptop. Laura and Anya put down their cards and Klara and Cassie stopped talking.

"Where are America and Kate," Eliza asked in confusion, "Their IDs are here."

No one spoke.

"Great."

Eliza looked around at each of them suspiciously. She wondered which of them knew where the two oldest teens were. No doubt the two girls were doing something they shouldn't be.

Eliza sighed, "Well, I'll find them later. For now, we just wanted to let you all know that the pool on the roof is open now, and the game room upstairs is finished and ready to be used. Feel free to go to either place."

Eliza left the room to find the America and Kate, leaving the other students to their business. She took out her cellphone and opened a group text to Bobbi, Sharon, Greer, Fitz, and Jan.

"America and Kate are lose in the building. No one is talking about where they've gone or what they're up to. Keep your eyes open."

Bobbi looked at her phone and opened up a message from Eliza. She read it and rolled her eyes. Sharon, who was across the table from her, had gotten the same one. They looked at each other humorously. Just what kind of harm could two teenage girls do?

* * *

"You're sure," Kate asked America as they stood on the roof of the Academy, "You're sure this is going to work?"

"Yeah," America shrugged with a smug smile, "I'm sure."

Kate glared at her in suspicion but trust her friend's judgment.

"Come on!"

America and Kate held hands and America, throwing a hand forward, created a portal infront of the two girls just off the roof.

"Jump!"

Kate had to keep from screaming as America pulled her off the roof and into the portal. They went through and landed inside the largest and most advanced of the training rooms in the Academy. It was off limits to the students without adult supervision. But America had of course found a way around that. With her teleportation powers, she managed to get through to the inside of the training room without trouble. Why she'd decided to make them jump from the top of the building, Kate wasn't really quite sure. But it was fun!

"Now that we're here," Kate grinned, "What should we do?"

"Computer," America smiled, "run archery program 13."

Kate looked at her in surprise, "How'd you know the programs?"

"I had Cassie access the internal systems and check out all the programs they have running during Fitz's computer exercises the other day."

Kate grinned, pulling her collapsible bow out of her backpack, "Well, let's have some fun!"

Archery Program 13 was a moderately difficult course that had been created by Clint for training archers back at the SHIELD academies. He'd transferred it here after finding out that Kate Bishop was to be taught here.

Soon, they turned one on for America, a very advanced course intended for Eliza to use, not the students. Everything was going swell until Kate got caught with a ball of fire during America's simulation. It burned her thigh quite badly. America shouted for the computer to shut off the simulation, which thankfully it did. Kate was holding her thigh with her hand, trying to stop the burning sensation.

America created another portal for them and transported them to the infirmary. Fortunately, a doctor was always standing by there and took a look at Kate right away. America stood by and watched as the young male doctor took out some salves and creams and began to treat Kate's wound.

Bobbi, being the most senior SHIELD officer in the house, was alerted to the event by the medical professionals, and she went down to the infirmary with Greer and Eliza to speak with the two students.

"What the hell were you two thinking," Bobbi growled as she paced alongside the bed that Kate lay on with her leg wrapped. America stood behind the bed.

Neither one spoke. For once, the smart-mouthed America and happy-go-lucky Kate were silenced. They knew they'd been in the wrong, but it didn't mean they had to like it. America, for one, was glaring at the ground. She hated getting yelled at by authority.

Greer stood by with her arms crossed while Eliza stood next to the door with a worried look on her face. She was worried for Kate, but also worried with how harsh Bobbi's punishment was going to be. Eliza knew what they'd done was very wrong, and they deserved to be punished. But how far would Bobbi go? Eliza had never seen Bobbi like this!

"There were only a few rules we laid out for you," Bobbi continued, "One of them we told you on day two was to never go inside that room without adult supervision. It is much more advanced than our other training rooms. Forge of the X-Men designed it like their Danger Room!"

Greer nodded with her, still standing with her arms crossed over her chest. Her tail was flicking back and forth in annoyance with the two teenage girls. She licked her fangs in frustration. Greer, having worked for the police, was a no-nonsense woman. And she couldn't stand it when teenagers thought they knew everything that was best for them. Because they didn't, she was fond of saying.

"Well," Bobbi stopped pacing, "Do you have anything to say for yourselves?"

"Sorry," America muttered.

Kate rolled her eyes at her friend before turning back to face Bobbi, "We are sincerely sorry, Agent Morse. It won't happen again."

"It damn well better not," Greer growled at them.

"In punishment, you will not receive this week's money stipend, nor next week's. You will clean all the bathrooms on the students' floor for the next three days. You will attend extra work-out sessions Monday through Wednesday only, no regular classes. The remainder of your time will be spent in your rooms working on your school work on the computer except during meal times. Is that clear," Bobbi eyed them harshly.

Both students nodded.

"Good. Now, Eliza, go ahead and heal Miss Bishop," Bobbi gestured to the girl's wrapped thigh.

Eliza nodded and came over from her spot near the door. She carefully undid the bandages and looked at the burn. It was starting to bubble up despite the cool anti-burn creams that had been applied. Eliza, putting her hand over the burn, closed her eyes and thought of the skin healing itself. Opening her eyes, they flashed gold and suddenly the burn was healed.

She was panting for a moment as she tried to catch her breath. Healing magic always used up a lot of her energy. Fortunately this one hadn't been too bad, at least not in the grand scheme of things. Kate hopped off the bed and thanked Eliza. She pulled America along behind her and the two girls went back to their rooms as they'd been told.

"Why did we ever agree to this," Bobbi sighed as she was left alone in the infirmary with Greer Grant and Eliza White.

"Good question," Tigra snorted.

Eliza shrugged, "They just need more time to realize who's in charge. And a little more maturity."

"There's a reason they aren't allowed to be superheroes yet," Bobbi grumbled to her companions as they left the room to head back upstairs to the lounge.

Eliza laughed, "This is true, this is true!"


	14. Going Batty

_A/N: Trailer for Part Two is up on my Youtube page! Links are in my profile! Comment there or here on what you think is coming... But beware, not all is how it seems._

* * *

**Part Two: Blood Feud**

It was twilight in San Francisco at the Avengers Academy that night. Eliza was in her room changing into her swim suit. It was a rather modest bikini. It was a sports-bra style top in ice blue and black, and the bottoms were all black tight swim shorts. She took her make up off in the bathroom before grabbing a towel from the rack and putting on her flip flops. She walked out into the hall and took the elevator at the end of the hall up to the roof. It let her out just as the sun finally was setting. As it turned out, she was the only one up at the pool tonight.

Eliza flipped on the lights, lighting up the entire pool side. She placed her things down on a pool chair and kicked off her shoes. Eliza went over to the shallow end and waded into the water. It was surprisingly comfortable: not too hot, not too cold. Just right. She waded into deeper water. Floating onto her back, she allowed herself to simply drift without care.

That was until she heard the elevator 'ding' and she swerved to see who it was. It turned out to be Bobbi, Fitz, and Sharon. They also were dressed in swimwear. Each placed their stuff on chairs at the sides and waded into the water.

"Damn that's cold," Bobbi complained.

Eliza laughed, "Nah, it's fine!"

Sharon agreed with Eliza. Fitz just stood shivering in the shallow end before finally he jumped under the water and pushed off in an underwater dive towards the deep end. He finally resurfaced and brushed his hair back with his hand.

Sharon laughed and pushed Bobbi forward. She grumbled but followed suit, diving under the water to get her hair wet and her body used to the temperature faster. Eliza found it funny, observing the two other women, that all three of them had blonde hair. It was just strange in that coincidence!

"So what brought you three up here," Eliza asked them after a few minutes of light swimming.

Bobbi shrugged, "Saw you leaving your quarters in your swimsuit. Decided I'd tag along. These two saw _me _and copied _me."_

"I hadn't gone swimming in a long time," Fitz told the ladies.

Sharon agreed, "Same here."

Eliza looked around. It was so nice up here. There was a great view straight to the Golden Gate Bridge from where their Academy was, so up on the roof it was right there in plain sight! It was beautiful even at night, all lit up as it was.

Eliza smiled to herself. She could get used to this. This teaching job. Not having to save the world all the time. She could really get used to this.

* * *

"The suspect is Lilith Drake," Director Fury told Agent Barton.

Clint looked at him skeptically. The slideshow he had just been shown was almost unbelievable. In fact, Clint wouldn't believe it if it wasn't for the fact that previously he'd journeyed to the Asgardian realm of the dead, battled undead armies on earth, killed a sorceress, been killed BY a sorceress only to be saved by Loki, attacked by Loki, seen Loki turned into a kid… the list went on and on of supernatural events that Clint had seen or experienced. Not to mention meeting a talking raccoon and tree pair.

But this, this would be the strangest thing of all.

"You're telling me there are vampire gangs in San Francisco?"

"That's exactly what I'm telling you. And the only positive visual ID we've gotten is on Lilith Drake. We suspect she is a vampire."

"Suspect?" Clint asked in surprise, "You mean you aren't even sure?! You can't just go around accusing people of being vampires. After all, the public would freak!"

Fury agreed with this.

* * *

Eliza was the first to notice it.

"Aw, hello little bat!" she smiled, pulling herself out of the pool and walking over to where a bat lay struggling on the ground. Its wing must've been broken, she supposed. She had no idea how to heal a bat; she didn't understand its physiology. She didn't want to touch it either.

"What should we do with it," she asked, turning back to the others, "We can't just leave it out here to die!"

Sharon and Bobbi both left the swimming pool and walked over.

"Let's make a little nest for it in a cardboard box. We'll take it into the local shelter tomorrow morning," Sharon suggested to them.

Bobbi said she knew where an old cardboard box was from unpacking several weeks ago. She slipped on her shoes and wrapped herself in a towel before scampering off to find it. Fitz finally left the pool himself and came over to see the little brown and black creature.

"Bats a freaky," he said, muttering to himself, "Not like monkeys. Monkeys are cool."

"Oh would you stop it with the monkeys!" Eliza laughed but at the same time was dead serious.

Fitz had some sort of strange fascination with monkeys, she'd learned since he'd lived at Avengers Academy with her. And that had only been a few weeks!

"Fine. Dogs. Dogs are cool too," Fitz threw his hands up in the air, "You happy now?"

"We should get a dog," Eliza nodded.

Sharon laughed, "Good luck with that, Eliza."

"Well the Guardians have a dog! They have-"

"-Cosmo. I know. You've told us," Sharon nodded, "But Cosmo is also telepathic and self-sufficient."

"Details," Eliza brushed it off.

Finally Bobbi came back with a box in hand and several towels. They lined the bottom of the box, which already had holes cut in it for breathing, with a towel before using a different one to carefully pick up the bat and place it in the box. It squirmed and squirmed in fear. But it couldn't fly away.

All four companions left the pool deck then and Eliza, carrying the box, placed it in the big conference room right on their floor. Hopefully no one would disturb it there until morning when they could take it into the shelter. They decided to leave the top off- it's not like the bat was going anywhere. And that way it had more breathing room.

Several hours later, though, the West Coast Avengers would wish they'd sealed it tight.

* * *

_A/N: And so, we begin Part Two of West Coast Avengers!_


	15. Intruder Alert

_A/N: Chapter 15! Can you believe it? I'm excited. I remember when my first Elizaverse fic reached 15 chapters. I thought it was so long! Now look at us. The Changeling has 250! But anyways, sorry it took so long to update. I had an accident at the pool on Sunday which caused pretty bad lacerations on my feet. Then I had Graduation Tuesday, and the All Night Grad Party through to Wednesday (I then proceeded to SLEEP all of Wednesday). Then Thursday I was still catching up on sleep. And now today I had to drive my brother down to Williamsburg. So now that all that's over and done with, I can UPDATE!_

_Read, Review, and Smile Always!_

* * *

Around midnight that night, a woman appeared in the Avengers Academy, having transformed herself from a bat-like state into her human appearance. She had long black hair and a black body-suit on. Her large, black stiletto heeled boots went up to her knees, and her black gloves covered her hands. She pulled black sunglasses out of her pocket and put them on her head, in case she needed them.

The woman snuck through the halls, intent on finding out about these new Avengers. Unlike her brethren, this vampire (for vampire she was), was not intent on sucking blood or killing for sport. No, this was a vampire would was seeking allies.

But she needed more information first.

The vampire traveled through the halls, her red eyes shining in the darkness. She needed no lights to see, and her hearing was incredibly exact. She could pinpoint noises from nearly seventy-five feet away. This vampire was a special vampire. She was immune to the sun, immune to religious icons, and not reliant on blood (though she enjoyed the taste). She could transform herself fully into a bat or mist at will. She could control the weather and certain animals. She has hypnotic speech and touch. But she lacked one simple thing.

She was unable to kill her nemesis. Literally. It was a curse.

The vampire snuck into the computer room, using her superhuman strength to literally break through the metal wall and snap the wire lock on the door. Thus it slid open for her. She walked inside and shut the door behind her. Going over to the computer screens, she activated it and began hacking into the files of the West Coast Avengers.

* * *

**_Clint Barton AKA Hawkeye:_**_ Agent of SHIELD, Co-founder of West Coast Avengers. Level 10 SHIELD agent. Peak of human endurance and strength, expert marksman. Former SO of Agent Eliza White. Former Avenger. Former criminal._

**_Bobbi Morse AKA Mockingbird:_**_ Agent of SHIELD, Co-Founder of West Coast Avengers. Level 9 SHIELD agent. Peak of human endurance and strength, expert hand-to-hand fighter. Former Agent of SHIELD-616. Former Specialist. Former undercover HYDRA agent._

**_Eliza White AKA Changeling:_**_ Agent of SHIELD. West Coast Avenger. Level 7 SHIELD agent. Half-Vanir/Half-Asgardian. Queen of Vanaheim. Raised on Earth. Expert Sorceress. Weak telepath. Somewhat super-human strength. Former apprentice of Hawkeye. Former Avenger. Formerly suicidal._

**_Sharon Carter AKA Agent 13:_**_ Agent of SHIELD. West Coast Avenger. Level 8 SHIELD agent. Peak of human endurance and strength, expert hand-to-hand fighter. Former Omega Team member. Former handler of Winter Soldier._

**_Greer Grant AKA Tigra:_**_ West Coast Avenger. Former NYPD Officer. Member of the Cat-People. Feline features. Expert martial artist._

**_Janet Van Dyne Pym AKA Wasp:_**_ West Coast Avenger. Ability to shrink to five inches high and sprout wings. Shoots energy blasts out of hands. Former Avenger. Former rebel in Civil War._

**_Leo Fitz:_**_ Agent of SHIELD. West Coast Avenger. Genius level IQ. Expert engineer and mathematician. Former member of SHIELD-616._

* * *

"So those are the instructors," the vampiric woman mused. "An interesting group. Perhaps…"

Suddenly she heard a shout outside the door and turned around, baring her fangs. In rushed a man with scruffy hair and a flashlight. He pulled a gun, obviously frightened. Hitting a button on the wall, he alerted the base to the intruder.

She hissed at him, but began to disintegrate into a mist-like substance. The mist began to dissipate as it was sucked into the air vent. Fitz shouted and shot the air vent just as the last little bit of mist floated away.

The vampire, now in mist form, floated out into the sky. She controlled her mist flight and landed in a tree-covered area not too far outside the fence of the Avengers Academy where she took on human form yet again. Stupid SHIELD agent! She hadn't had time to look at the students!

Meanwhile, Fitz was gaping at the empty room in front of him. Bobbi was the first to meet him in the room. She noticed the ripped-open wall outside the door and drew her gun in alarm.

"Fitz! Fitz are you okay?!"

He turned around and nodded, "There was a woman. And then she… she disappeared. She turned into a gaseous state and floated away!"

Bobbi (and Eliza who had now arrived on the scene) looked at him like he was crazy. But he pointed to the computers which still had open the documents about each West Coast Avenger. They walked forward and looked at the screens without touching the keyboards, mouse, or monitors. They would need to collect forensic samples to corroborate Fitz's report.

"Describe her," Eliza ordered Fitz as they walked down the hall back to their quarters. "What did she look like?"

"She was tall and skinny, with jet black hair. She had creepy red eyes that I swear could stare right into my soul," he told her.

"Red eyes," she asked him in surprise, "You're sure?"

"Yeah."

"How strange!"

Eliza walked with Fitz back to the instructors' quarters. They said goodnight to each other and went back to bed. Meanwhile, Greer and Bobbi were blocking off the crime scene with tape and signs to keep the kids back.

The kids had rushed from their rooms and gone to see what happened. Sharon was busy keeping them back while Jan tried to convince them to go grab snacks or head to bed. She ended up marching half of them down to their suites when they wouldn't listen to Sharon Carter.

America was especially irritated. She didn't like being kept in the dark.

"We deserve to know what's going on," she demanded of Sharon Carter.

Agent Carter glared at her, "America, even WE don't know what's going on. So go back to bed. Aren't you supposed to be confined to quarters anyways?"

America shut up after that. But it was too late. Jan marched her and Kate right down to their bedrooms.

When Eliza got into her room, she checked her phone because she saw it was blinking. Someone had texted her. It was Kitty!

_"Hey Eliza! How are you? I finally got a chance to send you a text. We miss you here in New York. Hope everything is going fine!"_

Eliza decided she would respond in the morning. There'd been enough excitement for one night. No need to invite more by texting Kitty Pryde.


	16. Dinner and a Show

"Yes, I'm being driven home as we speak."

Clint Barton was in a SHIELD car returning home to the Academy after his meeting with Fury in DC. Bobbi Morse had alerted him that morning to an attack by an unknown on the Academy the previous night. Apparently attempts to isolate the perpetrator's DNA were unsuccessful. She must've been wearing gloves and been extremely careful.

Eliza was on the phone with him. She had a simple request.

_"Can we go out to eat tonight? In the city?" _she asked him over the phone.

Clint sighed. "Liz, I'm tired from flying…"

_"Please, Clint!"_

Clint rolled his eyes. He didn't exactly want to go but he supposed it had been a long time since he and his almost-daughter had gone out to dinner together. Not since… well not since when Natasha used to join them.

"Alright. I'll be home in ten minutes. Be ready to leave after I take a quick shower. Tell Bobbi she's in charge tonight. I'm taking my girl out."

She laughed. _"Sounds good. Talk to you soon!"_

Eliza hung up her cellphone and went to get ready. She'd just had training with Wiccan. Though it was Sunday, he requested a special session because he wanted to be ready in case the woman appeared again. After she showered and washed her hair, she got dressed into some nice shorts and a tee-shirt. Grabbing her sunglasses on the way out of her room, Eliza bounced down the hall and almost ran into Jan.

"Woah there!" Jan smiled. "What's got you all excited?"

"Clint and I are going out to dinner."

"Just like old times." Jan nodded. "How nice!"

Eliza agreed with her and continued on her way to the lounge. She found Bobbi there just as she'd expected.

"What did Clint say," Bobbi asked her, looking up from her cellphone.

Eliza smiled. "He said yes!"

"Good! You two need a little time together just like any family. Especially since Nat's gone." Bobbi came over and patted her on the shoulder. "You need to do something nice."

"Thanks again, Bobbi. You're awesome."

Half an hour later, Clint and Eliza were driving into the city and trying to pick a place to eat.

"I feel like Italian," Eliza told him.

Clint laughed. "Then Italian it is!"

They drove into the city and past the Golden Gate Bridge. They went into the main area of San Francisco and got stuck in traffic but Eliza didn't mind much. Finally they pulled in to a nice Italian place Eliza had found when doing a google search. They parked in a garage not far from the entrance and walked in.

"Good evening." A young woman smiled at Clint and Eliza. "Two?"

"Yes please," Eliza replied.

The woman gathered up two menus and nodded for them to follow her. They did so and walked through a well decorated, if somewhat dark, seating area. She gave them a booth.

"Know anything about this place, then?" Clint asked Eliza as they looked at the menus.

She shook her head. "Nope. Nothing. Picked it randomly based on reviews."

Clint raised an eyebrow. "You're rather keen on trying something new!"

Eliza laughed. Yeah, she was, she supposed. She was starting to get tired of cafeteria food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and even the occasional ordered pizza wasn't doing much for her. She wanted real food. She, Clint, and Natasha used to go out to dinner once a week back before the Civil War and after they'd become engaged. All that was gone now, of course. But she and Clint could still have dinner.

"So what are you going to get," she asked him. They'd been brought warm rolls and butter and oil that were simply delicious! But she wanted her real meal.

Clint put down his menu. "I think I'm gonna get the pepperoni pizza. Looks pretty good." He pointed over to a nearby table where a couple were sharing a brick oven pizza. "What about you?"

"Cheese ravioli. Can't go wrong with that."

Clint agreed and they ordered when their server returned. He told them it would be about twenty minutes. Not a problem for them.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," Eliza said after sitting quietly for a minute, chewing on a roll.

Clint raised an eyebrow in question. "Another boyfriend already?"

Eliza frowned good-naturedly and rolled her eyes. "No! But it… it is about Peter."

He nodded and looked at her. "Alright. What is it?"

She closed her eyes tight for a moment before opening them and looking at Clint. What she needed to say was hard, but, well, it needed to be said.

"I know you are looking into recruiting him as a teacher to help with Anya Corazon-"

"-We weren't going to do anything without your opinion," Clint quickly told her.

She smiled. "I know you wouldn't. That's why I wanted to tell you that I'm okay with it. I can deal with it. Maybe… maybe it'll even help us to… I don't know. To forgive one another."

Clint looked at her and smiled. She was strong. She was only nineteen and already she'd had to deal with so much. Clint himself was having a hard time dealing with the losses of Steve and Natasha, but he was an adult. She was still just a child. Not legally, but… she was still a kid.

He nodded. "Thank you. I'll let Bobbi and Fury know to contact Peter and give him the offer. He might not even say yes."

Eliza knew that was a possibility. She wasn't sure if she would be happy about that or disappointed. Part of her didn't want to see him again, but the other half… the other half wanted to give him a big hug and go back to the way things were.

They finished their meals in peace, discussing various things while they ate their food. Eliza insisted they share a dessert at the end so they got a giant warm chocolate chip cookie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. It was delicious.

They paid, walked out, and were about to cross the street when a dog ran across the road.

And got hit by a car.

The car's tires screeched to a stop. But the damage had been done. The dog was thrown down the road and rolled on its side. Eliza and Clint rushed out to it. The car's driver also came out and ran to the dog's side.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Is it okay?" the woman shouted as she landed beside the dog.

Eliza and Clint were taking a look, examining its wounds.

"Several broken bones, a few lacerations, probably a punctured lung. But he's alive," Eliza told them. "Where's the nearest vet?"

"Down the street there. Hop in my car, I can take you there," the woman said. "My name's Leah. Leah Gavina."

"Eliza White and Clint Barton," Clint told her.

Eliza carefully picked up the brown dog and she and Clint hopped into the small car. Clint took the passenger seat, giving the dog and Eliza the back. She told them they needed to hurry.

They pulled up outside the vet's office to see the vet closing up. It was nearly eight o'clock, after all.

"Please," Clint called out to him. "This dog was just hit by a car. He needs medical attention!"

The vet nodded and rushed to the car. He handed Clint his keys and told him to unlock the door while he took a look at him.

"Dr. Smith." He nodded to Eliza as the two of them helped carry the dog out. "Did you hit the dog?"

"No," said Leah Gavina, "I did. These two were just nearby."

"Good that you brought the dog here."

"Any identification?" Eliza asked him as the vet examined the dog.

"Other than his name, no." Dr. Smith shook his head. "I'm going to need you three to wait outside while I operate."

Eliza, Clint, and Leah went out to the waiting room. She told them she'd pay the vet bill but that she needed to go. Leaving her name and phone number on the counter, she left the vet, leaving Eliza and Clint to wait there themselves. In the time they were waiting, Clint called Bobbi to explain why they'd be home late. She told them it was fine, that they should take their time.

After an hour, the vet came out and smiled. "He's going to be fine. But he doesn't have a microchip and we can't accommodate him. This place is closed for the next week."

Eliza's face lit up. "We could take him home!"

Clint looked at her in shock. "No we cannot."

"Come on, Clint!"

Clint sighed. He looked at her face and shook his head in defeat. "Fine. We'll take care of him until you can find his owner."

Dr. Smith smiled. "Good! Good! I placed him in a carrier. The name on his collar is 'Arrow'."

Clint shook his head.

"We'll call him Lucky."

* * *

_A/N: PIZZA DOG_


	17. Vampires

_A/N: Wanted this to be longer, but I have a horrible pain in my neck and head and I need to go to bed. So sorry, but I made sure to go over 1000._

* * *

_"Hi Eliza. Can we talk?"_

Eliza had been sitting in one place on her bed, staring at that single text for nearly an hour now. She'd woken up early, too early for breakfast, because of a text. And now she was just… staring at it.

It was from Peter Parker.

What the hell was she supposed to say?! YES! She wanted to talk. But no… no she didn't. She wanted things to go back to the way they were. But that was impossible at this point. Maybe… maybe talking would be a good first step. After all, it had been nearly a month and a half since she'd last seen him or spoken to him.

So... Could they talk? That was the real question...

She picked up the phone and looked at it. All of a sudden she pressed "Call."

_"Hello?" _Peter answered. He sounded defeated.

"Hi. Um. Its Eliza."

Instantly his voice perked up. _"Eliza! Thanks for calling me back."_

She shuffled her feet beneath her blanket awkwardly. "So... What did you need?"

_"I was offered a job at your Academy. I was thinking of taking it. Things are nice here at the Tower, but we don't see much of Mr. Stark and New York is hostile to me still."_ Peter paused. _ "And it's about time I find a paying job. I can't mooch off Stark forever."_

"Why are you asking me? Why not just take the job?" Eliza asked him.

He sighed. _"Because I know how... Awkward... It might be."_

"It wasn't me who ended things Peter. It was you. So it won't be awkward unless you make it awkward," she bit back with more hostility than she intended.

_"Alright then. I'll take the job."_

"Alright."

_"Right then." _Peter paused for a moment._ "I uh... I hope you're doing alright. I hope... I hope I didn't make things worse for you. Losing Romanoff and Cap..."_

Images of blood and razor blades flashed through her mind. But she lied, "I've been fine. Thank you."

_"Right. I'll talk to you later."_

"Bye."

Eliza hung up her cellphone. She wrapped her earphones around it and got out of bed. She changed and got ready for the day before heading down to the cafeteria for breakfast.

Her first training session she had pyrokinesis with Dante Pertuz and after that, another magic session with Billy Kaplan. She especially looked forward to training the young sorcerer. It was quite rewarding.

After breakfast she put on her training suit and walked down to training room number four. It was her favorite training room. She found Dante standing there waiting for her.

"I'm not late, am I?" she asked in concern.

Dante shook his head. "No. I was early."

She smiled and unlocked the door. Walking inside, the lights automatically turned on and she spoke.

"Alright. Today we're going to focus on using your powers for small things. Not combat."

* * *

"A DOG Clint?!"

Clint shied away from Bobbi's exasperated shout. Lucky, who lay beside him on the lounge floor, also shrunk back.

"What was I supposed to do? They couldn't keep him and Eliza was all..." He imitated her puppy face.

Bobbi sighed, kneeling on the floor beside the brown mutt. She gently pet him on the head. Bandages covered his body. Eliza had done what little healing she could do with her limited knowledge of dog physiology once they had gotten home the night before, but he was still recovering from surgery of course.

"What's his name again," Bobbi asked with a sigh.

"Lucky. Well it was Arrow, but I didn't like that name." Clint bent over and rubbed the dog's belly.

"Arrow?" Bobbi asked incredulously.

"Dumb name, huh? Lucky is much better."

Bobbi laughed but didn't respond. She just continued to pet Lucky on the head. Finally she sat up next to Clint on the couch and took her laptop from the table next to the seat.

"So here's what we know so far."

She described what the intruder had looked like to Clint and he told her stop.

"Red eyes?" He asked her for clarification. "Long black hair? Tall?"

"Yeah." Bobbi nodded. "Why? You know her?"

"That's why I was called to DC by Fury. He was briefing me on a potential new threat: Vampires. Specifically one Lilith Drake." He explained it to his partner quickly.

"Vampires," Bobbi repeat incredulously. "Seriously? Like blood sucking, sunlight fearing, bat people?"

"Those are the ones. But think more along the lines of "Buffy" rather than "Twilight"." Clint twirled an arrow between his fingers. "Immortal bloodsuckers, hellbent on world domination and destruction."

"This just reached a whole new level of weird."

"You're telling me," he grunted in response.

The two companions spent the majority of the rest of the afternoon reading up in SHIELD's databases about vampires. There was very little actually. The main information was that all encountered vampires had, in the United States, so far been female, and all encountered ones were either in eastern Europe or California. Lilith Drake was the only name that could be associated with any vampire, though the name Xarus has appeared multiple places in books associated with Vampires.

"Dinner!" Eliza shouted, walking into the lounge. "I'm starving!"

"Is it dinner time already?" Bobbi looked at her in surprise from over the top of her laptop.

"Indeed it is!" Eliza smiled. "Sharon is on her way to look after Lucky since she's already eaten. I thought I'd come get you before getting my dinner."

"Thanks." Clint nodded. "We've been really busy."

"Whatcha been doing?"

"Researching vampires," Bobbi told her nonchalantly.

Eliza looked at them like they were crazy. "Vampires? Evil blood-loving monsters that love the night? Why are you looking up fairy tales?"

"Because we don't think they _are_ fairy tales. At least not according to SHIELD intel," Clint told her. "We think the intruder from a few nights ago was a vampire. Maybe even the one named Lilith Drake herself."

"Damn. That's like… really weird." Eliza looked at the picture of Lilith Drake on Bobbi's computer. "Well those red eyes would certainly match up with Fitz's description of the intruder."

Bobbi and Clint got up to follow Eliza to the cafeteria when she asked them a question.

"So what do we do? Give everyone crucifixes and wooden stakes?" she joked.

Clint shrugged, "Actually, maybe yes."


	18. Distractions

_A/N: Lucky is from Matt Fraction's Hawkeye run and he's literally my fave._

* * *

At dinner that night, Eliza sat with Clint and Bobbi. She couldn't find her usual dinner partner, Laura. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy Clint and Bobbi's company, but sometimes she got the feeling that they were enjoying being alone.

"So." Eliza said, picking at her food at dinner that night. "Peter said he's going to take the job."

Clint nodded. "I got the call about an hour ago. He's coming in to visit on Wednesday. Two days from now. If all goes well and he likes the job, he should be moving in within a couple weeks."

Bobbi watched Eliza carefully before discreetly changing the subject. "So you brought home a dog."

Eliza grinned. "Sure did! Lucky. Isn't he adorable?"

"He is pretty cute." Bobbi admitted with a smile.

Eliza liked Bobbi. She was pretty cool. But she was no replacement for Natasha. No, Bobbi was more like a big sister if Nat had been like her mom.

"So about these vampires." Eliza again changed the subject to something much more pressing. "Do we know what they're vulnerable to?"

Clint shook his head. "No one knows. There are old texts that have been found in Romania regarding vampires which is one of the ways SHIELD is gathering Intel on them."

"It describes them as being vulnerable to fire especially. Wooden stakes to the heart kill them. Religious icons frighten them. That kind of thing. Just like the legends," Bobbi said.

"Do the rest know about this?" Eliza asked them.

Clint shook his head. "We're going to tell them tonight."

"And the kids?"

Bobbi shrugged. "They're on a need-to-know basis."

Eliza nodded as she took a bite of her pasta. It wasn't bad, necessarily. But it wasn't super good. It was just... Okay.

But something else wasn't okay.

The light outside was fading and things were beginning to awaken in San Francisco. After all, everyone knows vampires come out at night to play. And to feed. And so it was that night like so many nights before.

"Alyssa, I'm heading out. I've got my eye on this guy down the street. He should be walking home soon," said a woman whose dark skin glistened as she stood under a fluorescent bulb. No sunlight for these girls.

The blonde one, Alyssa, nodded. "Good hunting to you, Vanessa. I'm going to wake Abigail and then head out as well."

"I'm up," a red headed woman insisted as she came into the room. "Just waiting on Fiona and Kat now."

"Who's on guard tonight?" Alyssa asked her fellow housemates.

"That would be me," a woman with dark brown hair said coming into the room. "Fiona at your service."

Alyssa nodded. "Good. I'm heading out. Don't do anything stupid while Vanessa and I are gone."

Alyssa's bright red eyes observed Fiona quickly before she grabbed her house key and stuck it in her pocket as she waltzed out the door. She looked up at the moon and smiled. Her fangs showed slightly and the pearly whites glittered in the light. She had a good feeling about tonight.

Alyssa made her way down the sidewalks of San Francisco. She watched every street corner, trying to pick up potential prey. Finally she spotted one.

He couldn't have been older than eighteen. His blue eyes and baby cheeks were flush as he obviously was trying to hurry home. Alyssa figured he must've been at a friend's house and was out too late. Maybe he was in for a talking to when he got home. Though he didn't need to worry about that now. He wouldn't be getting home at all! She needed extra blood tonight because her last two hunts hadn't been fruitful.

"Excuse me," Alyssa called out to him. "Excuse me! I'm sorry but do you know how to get to thirty-second street from here?"

She rushed up to him. As he turned to look at her and his blue eyes met her red, she smiled. Instantly he was hers.

"Come here." She beckoned to him, slinking into a back alley way. "Let me show you something."

As soon as they were in the shadows, he was grabbing at her, trying to kiss her. She obliged. Kissing him passionately, she slowly made her way with her mouth to his neck. Opening wide, she drove her fangs deep into the vein.

He didn't even scream.

* * *

The next morning, Eliza texted Kitty.

"Hey Kitty! I've been okay. It's a little boring here sometimes and I don't have a movie buddy without you. I can't really fraternize with the students even though they're the only ones my age. How are you and Kurt and Logan?"

So her surprise, Kitty got right back to her.

_"Hey girl! So glad to hear from you! I've been great, missing you though. I'm thinking of taking a trip out to see you and the new Academy. The Prof wants someone familiar with teaching to give you guys some pointers. Logan would come to! Then the two of us can go see a movie! How's that sound?"_

"Awesome!" Eliza typed. "When are you thinking of coming?"

_"Well Professor Xavier or Storm is gonna contact Agent Barton today and set up a date. We're thinking sometime this week."_

"I'm so looking forward to it. Keep me updated, Kitty!"

_"Will do. Ttyl!"_

Eliza put her phone down and changed into her suit. She'd already eaten breakfast and had a training session with America to work on utilizing her teleportation during combat.

America and Kate had finally been released from their punishments and were back to training. Kate had archery right now with Clint while America trained with Eliza.

Eliza and America reached the training room at the same time coming from opposite directions. Eliza told her good morning and unlocked the door for the teenager.

"Ready for class?" Eliza smiled as she closed the door behind them.

"Very." America nodded fiercely.

"Good!" Eliza walked over to her. "First thing we're going to work on today is basic combat with teleportation. Teleporting allows someone to avoid a hit when others would otherwise have to take it."

"But I'm super strong. Hits don't bother me," America pointed out."

"True," Eliza conceded. "However you never know when something big is coming at you. And you can still burn, right?"

America nodded. "Alright then. Let me show you what I can do."

Eliza grinned mischievously. She backed up and nodded. Pulling her arm back, her eyes flashed red and a ball of fire formed in her palm. She threw it forwards at America.

America teleported behind Eliza but the instructor sensed her. Eliza dove out of the way of America's well aimed punch. As America went to jump on Eliza, she teleported away from the incoming hit and got her own flaming ball ready. As America's fist pounded the training room floor, Eliza let loose her fire ball. America saw it and teleported out of the way. But Eliza was ready. She had a feeling America would try to side swipe her, so she got her fire ball ready and stood waiting for America to appear.

And indeed, she appeared right next to Eliza. But Eliza was ready and stuck the ball of fire right near America's face.

"Too predictable," Eliza shook her head. "Now you've got a burned face and are unable to see. What do you do then?"

America angrily grit her teeth. "Teleport away."

"And then your team loses the battle." Eliza sighed. "Let's try again."

* * *

"Target 2, row C." Clint instructed.

Kate let loose an arrow and it flew right through the ring that was slowly moving across the wall.

"Target 9, row A."

Kate again notched an arrow and let it fly. straight through the target it went and impaled the soft barrier on the wall.

"Targets 7 and 10, row B."

Kate put two arrows to her string and sent them flying. She got Target 7 perfectly, but hit the inside edge of 10. A loud noise alerted the two archers to this fact and the disk blinked red.

Kate glared at the arrow. "Aww arrow, no."

Clint took out his own bow and pressed a new button on his control. "Stand back, Kate."

Disks flew around the room, floating in mid air and flying in circles. Clint shot them quickly one at a time, careful to never touch the rings. Each time he got an arrow through, the ring lit up green before falling to the ground. His final shot was particularly fantastic as he managed to bank shot an arrow off the ceiling into the final two disks.

"Quit showing off," she grumbled.

Clint chuckled. "I'm not showing off. I'm showing you how awesome you'll be before too long if we keep this up. You've got real talent, Kate."

She nodded, taking out her purple practice bow. "Let's run it again."

"Sounds good."


	19. Seeing You Again

_"We need your team to take a look. We're also calling in Agent Simmons to investigate. This has been going on for too long."_

That's what Fury had told Clint and Bobbi while they took a break from exercising after dinner that night. He'd called them to let them know of a slew of mysterious bodies that had been found in San Francisco over the past several months that they simply couldn't explain via the regular police force investigations. They seemed to be drained entirely of blood.

Now the two West Coast Avengers leaders sat in Clint's quarters, Clint on the bed and Bobbi in the desk chair. They were busy discussing what to do. Who to send in.

"I say you lead the team," Bobbi told Clint. "Jemma probably still feels betrayed by me for being on different sides of the War. I say we also send in Eliza and Greer."

"Sounds good to me. Greer will be invaluable when communicating with the police. She understands 'em. I just hold up my badge and tell them to go away." Clint nodded. "And Eliza should be able to detect any magical presence."

"Speaking of Eliza, she wants to take the Kaplan boy to visit Asgard soon. Says it'd be good to expose him to more magic." Bobbi shifted her position in Clint's chair.

Clint sighed. "She wants to see her sister, too, I'm sure. And Thor and Loki. I'm not against it at all, but we should deal with whatever this new threat brings first. Can't have our only healer running off and leaving us vulnerable."

"Also," Bobbi asked him, "what did you tell Storm about Logan and Kitty Pryde visiting?"

"I told her they could come any time. We owe Eliza that much. And they might be able to help us out," Clint told his partner. "Logan's tracking skills might help us figure out where Lilith Drake is hiding."

Meanwhile up on the roof, the kids were having a mini midnight pool party. Everyone was there, even Laura Kinney. But she pointed out that her Adamantium skeleton meant swimming simply wasn't her thing.

"Come on, Teddy! Jump!" America laughed as the blonde teenage boy got ready to cannonball in.

Teddy Altman ran up and catapulted himself into the pool's deep end. The splash rocked the water and sent waves throughout. America high-fived him.

Billy chuckled and sent a splash back at his boyfriend. Teddy allowed himself to take his true Skrull/Kree form. His green skin and wings shown now, and he used his wings to spray water at the others.

"Hey!" Kate laughed as she shielded her eyes from the water. "No powers!"

Allowing his alien form to resubmerge, he took on his human form once again. He laughed and splashed Kate with his hands instead.

Klara, Cassie, and Kamala were in the more shallow end of the pool. They were simply swimming lightly and talking. Kamala was trying to explain her fan fiction to them but they just started at her and didn't understand.

Dante was sitting on the side with Laura. He told them water wasn't his thing. After all, he was more about fire than anything else what with his powers and all.

Anya came over to Laura and Dante.

"Have any of you heard about whether the Avengers have gotten Spiderman to train me?"

"I have not heard a thing." Laura shook her head.

Billy dove under the water and popped back up after getting his black hair wet again. He held out some water cupped in his palms.

"Intoabird."

He let the water go up into the air and it took on the shape of a dove. Flying around the other kids, it proceeded to land on Teddy's head and turn back into plain water, dumping water all over Teddy.

It was past one in the morning when Tigra and Sharon finally went up to the roof to tell the kids to go to bed.

"Its very late." Tigra pointed up at the moon. "I know some of you have training early tomorrow. Plus we don't want you guys keeping the rest of us awake."

Sharon nodded. "Its time for bed."

The kids whined and complained but everyone slowly got out of the pool and dried off. Sharon and Tigra went back inside, followed by some of the kids. The others finished drying off before heading inside too.

They walked by the Avengers lounge and saw that Eliza and Jan were still up playing chess.

"So he's coming tomorrow." Jan nodded. "Peter I mean."

Eliza sighed as she moved her pawn. "Yep. He even asked if that was alright with me."

"You said yes?" Jan asked in surprise.

Eliza looked at her. "What was I supposed to say?!"

Jan shrugged, moving her bishop and taking Eliza's rook. "Tell him the truth?"

"That's the thing." Eliza sighed. "I don't know how I feel. I want to be his friend again, but at the same time I don't."

Jan nodded in understanding. "Love is strange that way."

Eliza glared at the chessboard as she teared up. "I don't love him anymore."

Jan smiled at her sadly. "Don't say that. You know it isn't true. You wouldn't be hurting like you are now if you didn't love Peter."

Eliza sighed and closed her eyes. She supposed it was true. She just wished she didn't love him. It would all be easier then.

"Well it's time I got to bed." Jan stood up from her seat after knocking Eliza's king out with her queen.

Eliza nodded and smiled, thanking her for the game. As Jan walked away, Eliza turned the lights off in the lounge and settled into the couch with her phone. Her eyes began to water as she opened her phone and scrolled through her pictures. Images of the Avengers' short-lived trip to Disney World popped up. Pictures of her and Peter and Loki and Leah ice skating appeared. Shots of Eliza with Kitty, Kurt, and Peter also showed up.

She really missed her friends.

* * *

"He should be here soon."

Clint and Bobbi were waiting in the lounge for a message telling them that Peter Parker had arrived. Eliza was busying herself with training, teaching Billy some more stuff about magic.

"We're certainly getting a lot of visitors. After all, Logan and Kitty get here tomorrow." Clint replied to her.

Bobbi nodded. "Yeah what time do they arrive?"

"Around noon, last I heard," said Clint.

_"Sir. Peter Parker has arrived"_

"There's the text!" Clint got up and Bobbi followed him. They made their way to the front door.

Peter was just getting out of his SHIELD escort vehicle when they reached the front. They watched him make his way up the steps carrying a duffle bag with him.

"So this is it." Peter nodded as he looked around the façade. "Impressive."

"Welcome Peter." Clint shook his hand.

"Thank you sir." He smiled. "Hi Agent Morse."

"Mr. Parker." She nodded. "Come on in."

Peter followed Clint and Bobbi inside the mansion and looked in awe around at the high ceilings and marble flooring. Clint and Bobbi led him to the instructors' quarters.

"Your room is this one. Fitz and I are next door and Tigra is across the hall," Clint told him. "Put your stuff down and we'll show you the facilities."

"Oh." Bobbi pulled something out of her pocket. "Here's your temporary ID. If you stay full time, you'll get one with your picture on it."

Peter took it and did as he was instructed, following Clint and Bobbi out into the rest of the Academy.

"First are the students' quarters." Clint showed him down the stairs to the kids' hall way. They walked past the Student Lounge and it was empty. "Most of them should be in class right now."

After that, they showed him the cafeteria, infirmary, and roof pool. After stopping by the Avengers' Lounge, it was time to show him the training facilities.

The first one was the big group. Sharon was tackling Blunts and Blades. Currently America, Kate, Klara, Kamala, Teddy, and Dante were there.

"Sharon and I co-teach Blunts and Blades," Bobbi explained as they stood just within the door. She pointed out and identified the students.

They moved further along the hallway and came to Training Room 3. Inside, Tigra was teaching hand-to-hand skills to Laura, Anya, and Cassie.

"Anya Corazon, the girl there." Clint pointed to a teenager with tanned skin and dark brown hair. "She's the one you're being brought in to teach."

"Cool." Peter nodded and looked her over.

"Training Room 4 is just around the corner." Bobbi and Clint walked him over to it and opened the door. Inside they found Eliza training Billy. Her back was to them.

Peter sighed and looked at her sadly. Though he couldn't see her face, he could tell she was enjoying this new job. He supposed he was happy for her, but he admitted to himself that he missed her.

"Good. Now, watch me." Eliza spoke a word of command, something she seldom did out loud, and a great swirling ball of blue and gold light radiated from her open palm. "Remember when I first showed you this? Well it's time you learn it."

"We've got visitors." Billy pointed to the little trio that stood in the doorway.

Eliza whipped around and found herself looking into Peter's eyes. She frowned slightly but hid her pain deep down.

"Peter." She nodded.

He nodded back. "Eliza."


	20. Don't Let Go

A/N: I updated twice yesterday, so just want to make sure everyone's read both of those. I will probably end up updating again tonight after this one, so keep your eyes out. This one is a little more sappy than the previous ones. For those of you who don't understand the Eliza/Peter relationship, here's basically how it played out. You don't need to read the rest, but I thought I'd put it out there for new Elizaverse readers who might be confused as to their history.

Peter was contacted by SHIELD and made a consultant, so he began taking orders from Fury when needed. When the Avengers were called out of New York, he was tasked with watching out for bad guys. However at the time, Hnoss (Eliza's twin sister) had been convinced by Loki to replace Eliza on the Avengers secretly so that OSCORP and Loki could run tests and brainwashing on her. Peter was the first to realize this when he caught sight of OSCORP experimenting on a girl while he did a routine check of the place. Eventually this led to her rescue but he didn't actually meet her until about a month later when Hela and Loki tried to take over Earth using the Norn Stones. Eliza and Peter were introduced and both immediately felt a connection. However Eliza was killed in battle to satisfy Hela's obsession with her and was taken to Helheim (the Avengers later alongside a guilt-ridden Hnoss use Dr. Strange's magic to bring her back). Once back in New York, she and Peter started hanging out more and more. Eventually when it was time for Pepper and Tony's wedding, she needed a date to the wedding and asked Peter. Later he would visit Asgard for Thor and Jane's wedding to be her date again. They started officially dating after Eliza's coronation as Queen of Vanaheim. She ended up saving his life like he'd saved hers after they were attacked by evil mutants back on Earth and she was forced to chose between saving Peter and saving Hank Pym. Things were going fine until the Superhuman Civil War when Eliza convinced Peter to reveal his secret identity to the public, resulting in an attack on his home in which his former girl friend Mary Jane was killed. He blamed Eliza for this and broke up with her in anger. Fast forward two months and we're in this chapter.

So yeah, hope you enjoy! Tell me what you think of the current chapters in the reviews! I love to hear from you!

Love, Silz

* * *

_"You only know you love her when you let her go. And you let her go." _

**Let Her Go by Passenger**

* * *

Eliza avoided lunch and dinner. She simply wasn't hungry and didn't want to risk running into Peter. She knew she'd have to talk to him eventually, but she intended to put that off as long as possible. She didn't have any classes the rest of the day, so she decided to hang in her room.

Clint noted her absence during lunch but didn't think much of it. It wasn't until she didn't show up at dinner that he got concerned.

"Has Eliza eaten at all today?" Bobbi echoed his concerns as they sat in the lounge after dinner.

He shook his head. "Not since Peter got here I don't think."

Speaking of Peter, he walked into the room joking with Jan as the two of them made their way inside together. Jan laughed at something he said.

"I'll go talk to her." Clint offered, standing up.

Bobbi shook her head. "No. Let me go. Let me give it a try."

He shrugged. "Be my guest."

As Clint sat back down, Bobbi stood up and left the room, making her way down the hall to Eliza's room. When she got to the door, she knocked lightly.

"Eliza? It's Bobbi. Can I come in?"

Eliza stayed silent for a moment before responding. "Sure."

Bobbi opened the door and walked in. Shutting it behind her, she took a seat at Eliza's desk, turning the chair towards the sorceress.

"Have you eaten since breakfast?" Bobbi pitched the question right off the bat.

Eliza shuffled her feet from where she sat underneath her bed covers. "No..."

"You need to," Bobbi said. "But that's beside the point. I know you're trying to avoid Peter. And honestly it makes perfect sense. I went years of my life avoiding Clint after our break up."

"But you didn't love him anymore," Eliza replied.

Bobbi looked at her sadly. How untrue. "No, Eliza. I did love him. I... I still do. It was the hardest thing I ever did. I was angry with him for choosing Natasha over me. But I still loved him."

"Is... Is Peter still angry with me? Has he said anything about Mary Jane's death?" Eliza finally asked her.

Bobbi shook her head. "Actually he was asking where you were earlier, whether you liked it here. That kind of thing. I don't think he's still mad."

Eliza nodded. "Where is he now?"

"The lounge. Come join us! It'll be easier with more people there to talk." Bobbi held her hand out to help Eliza off the bed. "You ready?"

Eliza got up and took a deep breath. "Yes. Let's go."

The tall agent and short sorceress walked down the hall back to the lounge. Eliza froze in the entrance when she noticed Peter Parker but she shook herself and went inside, taking a seat on the couch next to Bobbi.

"So," Clint said, "Logan and Kitty are coming in tomorrow around noon. Who's going to be the welcome party?"

"Definitely me," Eliza replied with a smile.

Peter hesitated before saying he'd better get busy training Anya Corazon.

"I'd like to." Jan offered. "I feel useless around here!"

"You're not useless, Jan!" Clint objected.

Eliza seconded that statement.

"Thank guys." Jan laughed.

"Right then, Eliza, Jan, the two of you should be ready around twelve. Mr. Dose will text you when they pull in." Clint explained how it would work tomorrow.

"Now, about the mysterious bodies," Bobbi began. "I'm scheduled to take Eliza and Greer with me down to the morgue at the police station the day after tomorrow to meet up with Jemma Simmons. I'm also going to ask Logan to join us."

"Sounds good." Eliza nodded.

Fitz walked into the lounge at that moment. His face was covered in whip cream.

"Alright. Who did it?"

Eliza burst out laughing. Peter and Jan joined in with her. Clint and Bobbi just looked mildly amused.

Fitz narrowed his eyes. "Eliza?"

"Don't look at me!" She threw her hands up.

He glared. "Then who?"

America and Kate walked by and noted Fitz's white creamy face. They proceeded to burst out laughing to the point that they were in tears.

"It was one of you, wasn't it!" Fitz pointed at them. "I know it was."

"I wish!" America laughed. "But it wasn't me."

"Nor me!" Kate objected when all eyes turned on her.

They continued on down the corridor laughing to themselves.

Fitz looked utterly unamused. He left the room muttering curses on whoever snuck into his room and put whip cream on his hand. When he'd woken up from his nap, he'd put his hand to his face and gotten it all over.

Eliza left the room soon to grab a bite to eat from the cafeteria. It was getting late and she took her ice cream up onto the roof.

Peter went back to his quarters and lay on his bed. After a few minutes he glanced at his watched. 9:45. He wanted to talk to her so bad. He wanted to apologize for the way he acted, for the way he treated her. He wanted things to go back to normal.

Going over to his computer, he accessed the list of ID card locations. Eliza's was up on the roof. Steeling himself up, he grabbed his own temporary ID and walked down the hall to the elevator. To his surprise, he found Clint standing outside the door to the elevator.

"What's up?" Peter asked him.

Clint narrowed his eyes. "Be careful what you say to her. If you hurt her more, you're out of a job."

Peter looked at him in surprise. "How'd you know I was going up to talk to Eliza?"

"I'm alerted each time the ID cards are accessed and I'm told who accesses them. It wasn't hard to guess." Clint shrugged. "Just be careful. I still like you Peter. Don't do anything to change that fact."

Peter nodded. "Of course."

Clint stood aside and let Peter into the elevator. Peter hit the top floor and rode it all the way up. It wasn't that far; the entire facility was only three floors above ground and several below. It let him out and he walked in the moonlight across the pool deck.

Eliza had her back to him. She was finishing her ice cream and watching the sky for stars. There weren't many visible from San Francisco, but since they weren't really inside the city, some were still visible.

"Hey," he said before trailing off. "Whatcha doing?"

She stiffened, not turning to face him. But she finally responded. "Nothing. Eating ice cream."

"Yum. Wish I had some." He smiled, walking until he was right next to her leaning against the railing.

"What do you want?" she asked him with more hostility than intended.

"I uh..." He wanted to joke around with her, relieve some of the tension, but he had a feeling that would do more harm than good. "I uh just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Fine."

He hung his head and looked away.

"Look. I'm... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for how I reacted after Mary Jane's death. Her death wasn't your fault. I just needed someone to blame."

Eliza's eyes grew watery but she was determined not to cry. Oh how she wanted to confide in Peter again. Confide in the fact that she was slowly slipping back into her depression here. She had no friends her age at the Academy. Laura was her only one, and the girl was still a lot younger than Eliza, plus she was a student.

"I forgive you. But that doesn't mean I can forget," Eliza said quietly.

Peter frowned. He'd hoped that apologizing would fix things. He hadn't realized it would take time to heal their wounds.

"Things aren't fine... Are they?" he said quietly. "I can tell."

She glared out into the night. How come he couldn't leave her alone!

"I can handle this."

"You don't need to do it alone," Peter insisted.

She turned on him, her hair whipping around as she spun to face him.

"Oh yeah, and who's help should I look to? _Yours_? The person who shut me out, who sent me away? The person who wasn't there for me when they promised they would be? Right. I should turn to _that_ person."

Peter looked down at his feet in shame. He had hurt her more than he'd thought. He turned to leave.

"Peter.." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I just. Peter I love you. But I don't know how to anymore. Its going to take time."

He smiled at her sadly. "I'll be here. You can talk to me. I promise. And this time, I'm pretty sure Clint will kill me if I break my promise."

Eliza cracked a smile. Her father figure would probably hunt Peter down if he hurt her again. She had little doubt.

"There's that beautiful smile!" Peter pointed at her with a grin. "We should see more of that."

"Oh get out," she rolled her eyes but chuckled.

"Aye aye, Captain!" He saluted her and walked back into the elevator.

When the doors closed he fist pumped the air. That was a step. A big step. Maybe some day they'd be able to be friends... And then more than friends... Again.


	21. X-Visit

_A/N: Second chapter of the night. Be sure to read the previous one before this! Just like I did in the previous author's note with Eliza and Peter, I will attempt to explain the relationship between Eliza and Logan._

_They met first during the Oblivion Crisis, when Logan led a group of Young Mutants from the X-Mansion to help assist the rest of Earth's Mightiest in defeating the armies of undead that Hela released on Earth. Paired with Eliza, he tried to observe her and get to know how she worked. This led to her confiding in him about a prophetic set of images she'd witnessed in Wakanda that prophesied her death in the coming battle. He didn't understand exactly what she was saying, but he felt it wasn't his business to prod. During the battle, their whole team was knocked out except the two of them and Logan witnessed Eliza's death at the hands of Hela's champion. Fast forward a little while to after Eliza's been brought back by Dr. Strange and Hnoss and some other adventures, and Eliza is asked, along with Hank Pym and Peter Parker, to investigate a mutant threat alongside Logan, Kitty Pryde, Bobby Drake, and Kurt Wagner. Hank is killed and Eliza feels responsible. Completely beside herself because of Jan's momentary anger and blame of Eliza, she is on the verge of a mental collapse, so Logan and the others have her come back to the X-Mansion for a few days while Jan calms down, mainly so that someone can keep an eye on the self-destructive Eliza. She begins spending more and more time with Kitty, and keeps up with Logan. Fast forward another several months and we come to the present._

* * *

All Anya Corazon knew about her powers was that the emanated from a tattoo she'd received and then she got her webbing abilities after getting a blood transfusion in a hospital.

She had secretly operated under the radar in her home area of Brooklyn for a few years, but obviously SHIELD had known about her because they offered her a choice after the Civil War: work with the new West Coast Avengers and become certified, or go into government custody. Well it was an obvious choice for her. She would take training and certification over jail time any day.

Now here she was, finally able to train with her idol, Spiderman. This morning would be her first class with him.

She arrived in Training Room 1 early and waited outside the door. Soon enough Peter Parker was waltzing down the hallway, whistling merrily.

"Good morning, Anya. I'm Peter." He shook her hand.

"Its so awesome to finally meet you!" She grinned widely, her brown ponytail bouncing up and down as she nodded vigorously.

"Hey same here. Nice to know I'm not the only spider in the world," he joked.

Turning to the door he punched his key into the pad and unlocked it. They went inside quickly.

"So," Peter began, "what can you do?"

Anya grinned and ran up to the wall. She began climbing up the sheer side with just her hands and feet. When she reached the top, she took one hand off the wall and shot a stream of organic webbing from her forearm to the ceiling where it stuck and she swung down to the ground.

"Plus I'm super flexible. And I have super strength, super speed. That kind of stuff," she added with a smile.

Peter nodded. "You're a regular Spider-Girl."

"That should be my codename!" She nodded intently. "Everyone else has been going over what they want their superhero names to be. Kate wants to be Hawkgirl or Hawkette. Something like that. Klara likes Rose Red. America wants to be Miss America. Teddy goes by Hulkling, Billy by Wiccan, Dante by Inferno. Even Laura and Kamala have names: X-23 and Ms. Marvel!"

"Spider-Girl it is, then!" Peter laughed.

* * *

"Are they here yet?" Eliza paced back and forth in the foyer of the Academy.

Jan laughed from where she sat on the couch in the main entrance area. "Not yet. Calm down!"

Eliza rolled her eyes and decided to check out the giant window. Suddenly she saw a black car driving up to the front.

"And there's the text," Jan said, getting up after her phone buzzed.

Eliza ran out the door and down the steps when she saw Kitty and Logan getting out of the SHIELD car. Logan was arguing with Mr. Dose, insisting he could carry his own luggage. In the meantime, Kitty saw Eliza and grinned widely.

"Liz!"

"Kitty!"

Eliza hugged Kitty and they laughed together. Meanwhile Logan watched in amusement as Jan walked more slowly down the steps and joined him leaning against the car.

"How was the flight?" she asked him.

Logan shrugged. "Good enough."

Kitty and Eliza were still talking and laughing as the SHIELD car drove away. Mr. Dose, insisting upon it, took Logan's and Kitty's luggage into the Academy. Finally Eliza turned to the Wolverine.

"Logan." She grinned at him. "I'm so glad you came."

"Good to see ya kid." He nodded and together the little group of four went inside.

"Kurt wanted to come," Kitty explained to Eliza. "But Storm only wanted to send two of us."

"Too bad." Eliza nodded. "But I'm sure he can come out sometime later."

"You two hungry?" Jan asked them. "Cause I'm starving. Though I suppose the time difference is rather strange."

"Yes! So hungry," Kitty told her.

Jan and Eliza led the way down to the cafeteria. Eliza dropped back, allowing Jan and Kitty to lead. Instead she wanted to talk to Logan.

"So Laura is doing well," she began. "At least, I think she is."

"Kid doesn't talk much," Logan nodded. "Surprised she took this job in the first place. She was starting to make friends back at the School. Now. What about you?"

"Me?" Eliza tried to brush it off. "I've been alright."

Logan stared at her in skepticism. He snorted, turning away. "Sure, kid. Sure. You can fool the others maybe but you can't fool me."

Eliza shrugged. "Peter's working here now."

Logan looked at her in surprise. "The kid you broke up with?"

Eliza rolled her eyes. Nice way to put it. "I didn't break up with _him_. He broke up with me. But thanks."

Logan shrugged. "Makes no difference t' me."

They finally reached the cafeteria. Most of the kids and teachers were on their lunch break. Clint waved the group over to where he and Bobbi had grabbed a big table.

"Figured you guys would be down soon," Clint said. "Nice to see you Logan, Kitty."

"Thanks Agent Barton!" Kitty smiled.

"Thanks for the invite, Clint, Agent Morse," Logan nodded, taking a seat next to Eliza who in turn sat next to Bobbi.

"Please, Bobbi is fine," the SHIELD agent insisted.

"Logan for me, then."

"So how was the flight?" Bobbi asked them.

Eliza and Kitty left the older people to talk while they went to grab food.

"The pizza is really good," Eliza told her.

Kitty laughed. "Eliza, you always think pizza is good!"

Eliza considered this. "True. Very true."

In the end, they both got the spaghetti. Eliza commented that it looked appetizing today. They also grabbed giant chocolate chip cookies for dessert. As they went back to their seats they passed Jan leaving. She told them that she had an important phone call she couldn't miss. But she wouldn't tell anyone what it was about.

Kitty and Eliza rejoined the table. Logan was off getting food now and Clint and Bobbi had left to return to teaching. Each had a class now.

"So I had a good idea for tomorrow evening," Eliza told Kitty. "I want to go see that new Disney-Pixar movie that just came out. You up for it?"

"Of course! I'm so excited!" Kitty grinned between bites.

Logan came back with a hotdog and fries. "Big cafeteria you have here for such a small number of people."

"Well there are plenty of workers here. We have medical agents, grounds keepers, guards, housekeeping, etc," Eliza explained. "They all need feeding too."

Logan shrugged and dug into his food.

Kitty and Eliza hung the rest of the day, sometimes training students, other times playing in the game room. Kitty seemed to be a master at air hockey. Eliza, for her part, was better at pool. Neither of them kept track of where Logan was.

For his part, Logan was alternating between training Laura with Clint's permission and doing research into the vampires. Clint and Bobbi had brought him up to speed after their post-lunch lessons.

Now it was after dinner and Eliza couldn't help but feel a little down. Kitty had gone to bed because she was tired from the time change. She didn't know where Logan was. She had a feeling Peter knew better than to press two nights in a row. Clint and Bobbi were likely busy. Clint spent less time with her now, but she didn't blame him for it. He had a life, and he was busy now that he was the head of the Avengers.

At the moment, Eliza sat in her room, changed into her pjs. She sat atop her bed, glancing every so often at the knife on her desk. It called to her. It wanted her. She glared at it in anger. Why did she feel this way? She'd had an amazing day. She'd seen some of her best friends for the first time in almost three months. She'd had a good strong day of training. And her afternoon therapy session hadn't gone poorly. So why was her depression seeping in?

A knock sounded on her door. She looked up in surprise after glancing at her clock. It was past midnight! Who would be at her door at this hour?

She got up and opened her door, peeking out.

"Logan?"

"Yeah."

Eliza looked at the short, stout man in confusion. "Why you knocking?"

"You never told me what's been troublin' yah." He shrugged. "I was gonna leave it alone, but Laura brought it up with me. She seems to be concerned you might do something."

Eliza sighed but let him come in. Logan nodded and sat down at her desk. She sighed again and sat down. Logan didn't miss the knife that sat on her desk but he didn't comment.

"I'm not suicidal," Eliza clarified. "I've been suicidal plenty of times in my life. That is not what's going on right now."

Logan smirked. "Good. 'Cause I can't deal with a suicidal teenage girl."

Eliza rolled her eyes. "Just wanted to make sure you understood that."

"Already saw you die once. Let's not do it again," Logan said in all seriousness.

Eliza closed her eyes as she remembered, painfully, her death at the hands of Hela about a year ago.

"You won't be rid of me any time soon," she assured him.

Logan grunted. "So. What's wrong then."

Eliza frowned. What was wrong? She didn't really know. She just felt… sad… when she wasn't busy training the kids. She was lonely. She had no friends. And she told Logan this.

"Friends are overrated," he shrugged.

Eliza frowned. Maybe Logan was fine as a loner, but Eliza wasn't. Community was too important to her. Suddenly she started tearing up.

"I miss Nat," she sobbed. "And Steve. I miss Bruce, I miss Darcy, I miss Bucky and Jane and Thor and Loki and Leah and Tony."


	22. The Morgue

A/N: And now, we advance the plot! Yay plots!

* * *

The next morning, Eliza had training off because she was set to leave for the police station in about half an hour. She was sitting in the lounge, watching TV by herself.

"Come here, Lucky," Eliza cooed at the brown mutt. "Come here!"

The dog hobbled over to her, his only remaining bandage still wrapped around his right leg. Thanks to Eliza's healing magic, the broken leg was almost completely healed. But it wasn't quite there yet.

"That's a good boy!"

Eliza hugged him and pat him on the head as he jumped up onto the couch beside her.

Unbeknownst to her, Peter was leaning in the large, open doorway with a small smile on his face. He watched her with Lucky and remembered her previous dog, Ice. Ice lived with Aunt May now because back when the Avengers were going on missions every week, there had been no way to take care of the big white dog properly. Now that things were more settled in the Academy, Eliza had that opportunity.

He acted like he was just now walking in when he alerted Eliza to his presence. With a small smile, he sat down on the couch, Lucky between him and her.

"Good morning." Eliza nodded.

"'Morning!" He smiled. "So how's it going? How's this fine little fellow holding up?" He scratched Lucky behind the ears.

"Pretty well," Eliza said. "He's almost fully healed."

Peter nodded. "Any luck finding his owners?"

Eliza shook her head quickly with a smile. "No one's claimed him."

"Sweet." Peter nodded. "Maybe Clint'll let you keep him."

She hummed in agreement, turning her attention to petting Lucky.

"So when does the squad head out?" he asked her.

She looked at him in confusion. "Squad?"

Peter chuckled. "You know. You, Logan, Bobbi, Tigra. You guys have some kinda mission, right?"

"Investigation," she clarified for him. "We leave in ten minutes. What about you? What's your day look like?"

"Actually I leave this afternoon to return to the Tower and organize my stuff to be transferred here. Aunt May is staying in New York though. Pepper promised to look after her." Peter sighed but smiled after a few moments. "Should be back in two days, so try not to miss me too much, Liz!"

"Eliza. I'm Eliza to you." She stiffened at the use of her nickname. "Maybe some day you'll earn back the right to use my nickname but that's not today."

Peter mentally cursed himself. He needed to be more careful around her. He couldn't joke around much. "Right. Sorry about that."

She got up from the couch after nodding to acknowledge his apology. "I need to get ready to go. Make sure Lucky gets fed by noon today please. Mr. Dose should do it, but I want to make sure. What time's your flight?"

"2:30."

She nodded. "Don't die."

He smirked. "I'll try not to."

Eliza left the room, leaving behind Peter petting a tired Lucky. She had to go get her suit on and meet the others outside. Back in her room, she slipped on her SHIELD suit, grabbed her knife and handgun, and walked out her door. She ran into Logan in the hallway. He wasn't wearing his usual X-Men suit (the yellow, blue, and black one), but was instead in a basic white shirt and tight black pants. They said nothing as they walked side by side down the hall into the open foyer of the Academy base. They didn't speak about the night before.

* * *

_"I miss Nat," she sobbed. "And Steve. I miss Darcy, I miss Bucky, and Jane and Thor and Loki and Leah and Tony."_

_Logan nodded, saying nothing. He let her cry, doing nothing until the knife on the desk began shaking. Soon it flew into Eliza's outstretched hand._

_"I'm alone, Logan. I'm all alone! Clint has Bobbi. I have no one!"_

_"Calm down, kid. Take it easy." Logan reached out to take the knife from her as she glared down at the floor and her bare feet._

_She held tight to it, but she eventually released it from her grasp. Logan rested it safely in his pocket. It wasn't going anywhere soon._

_Logan realized just how much Eliza relied on the community that surrounded her. He'd read her SHIELD file. She'd survived London's streets by forming a gang. Then she'd lived and worked on a Helicarrier with Clint and Natasha and some other agents. Then she'd lived and bonded with the Avengers. Now... Now the people around her all had separate jobs and responsibilities. It wasn't as familial as the original Avengers had been._

_What was it with these homeless teenage girls that so enthralled him? Wolverine supposed he saw a bit of himself in them and maybe a shot at redemption _through_ them. After all, first it had been Kitty. Then Jubilee, Pixie, Armor, and for a short time, X-23. Now it was, off and on, Eliza._

_She was still staring at the floor, the tears silent as they streamed down her face. Logan sighed and got up, sitting next to her on the bed._

_"I know it's hard." Logan nodded but continued down a different route. "Does _Clint_ know yah feel this way?"_

_She looked positively horrified. "No!"_

_"You might think about talkin' to him." Logan shrugged._

_"It's not the _same_ since Nat left and Clint and Bobbi started hanging out." Eliza sighed, trying to regain control of herself but failing miserably. "Don't get me wrong, Bobbi Morse is awesome. But she's not Nat."_

_"I'm sure there's a _reason_ Natasha ain't contacted any of you," Logan reasoned._

_Eliza glared and a tiny flame began forming in her open palm. "She damn well _better_ have a good reason."_

_Logan smirked. "Put down the fire. Ain't gonna help yah here."_

_She snorted but let the flames fade._

_"Now." He patted her on the back. "You've gotta know you _ain't_ alone, kid. Kitty's a text away and she'd hop on a plane right away no matter what an' come visit if it was an emergency."_

_She nodded, sniffling._

_"And," he hesitated. "An' I would too."_

_She sniffed. "I know."_

_"Then why're you crying?"_

_Eliza shrugged. "I guess I shouldn't be."_

_Logan nodded. He got up and placed the knife back on the desk. "Can I trust yah not to use this tonight?"_

_She hesitated, but eventually Eliza nodded. "Yeah. Yeah I'm good."_

* * *

Logan and Eliza met up with Tigra and, surprisingly Clint instead of Bobbi, out front. They were waiting with a SHIELD vehicle, ready to go.

"Everyone ready?" Clint asked. "There was a change in plans. I'm leading the team today."

They all nodded.

"Good." He gestured to the doors. "Then let's go."

They all hopped inside. Eliza stepped on Tigra's tail, causing the woman to hiss in pain and anger.

"Sorry!" Eliza squeaked in fear. "I'm so sorry!"

Greer rolled her eyes and her tail twitched in annoyance. But she nodded and told Eliza it was alright. They sat next to each other in the back, allowing Logan and Clint the two middle seats since they were more senior in the hero business than Eliza and Tigra.

"How long's the drive?" Logan asked Clint.

"About twenty minutes to the police station," Clint replied, checking his phone.

When they eventually got there, they found Jemma Simmons inside waiting for them. Her hair was layered and shorter than before. She had on a black and white tee-shirt and black jeans.

"Hello Jemma." Eliza nodded. "How's the Science Academy been?"

Jemma shrugged. "Teaching entry level Bio was okay. Not necessarily the class I'd choose, but I didn't expect much else. How about your Academy?"

"It's good." Eliza smiled, though she noted Logan was watching her carefully and could see through her bluff. "Teaching the other magic user is a blast."

"I'm glad." Jemma smiled politely. "How... How are Bobbi and Fitz?"

"Both are doing very well," Eliza told her as they followed the others to the front desk where the policemen stood waiting.

"We're here on behalf of SHIELD, conducting an investigation." Clint pulled out his ID and showed it to the police on duty. "With me are Agents Greer Grant, Eliza White, and Jemma Simmons, along with Logan Howlett of the X-Men."

One of the policemen, an older man, looked at Logan in disgust. "You brought a "Mutie" here?"

Logan narrowed his eyes at the insult and stepped closer to him. "That a problem, _bub_?"

"Shut up, feather head." Eliza stepped up to the man as well. "He _is_ with us. You'd do _well_ to remember that."

The man shrunk back and said nothing.

As they walked down the hall escorted by a different officer, Logan turned to Eliza and looked at her strangely. "Really? Feather head?"

Eliza shrugged. "Its one of my many insults for Clint."

Clint turned around in surprise and fake anger. "Hey!"

She grinned. "Yep. Right up there with birdbrain."

They followed the police officer down a flight of stairs and into an area marked "Morgue." It was frigid to help preserve the bodies.

"I'll be right outside. Take all the time you need," said the officer after he unlocked the door. "The corpses you need to inspect have been marked with a red label on the doors."

They stepped inside and closed the door. There were six corpse doors with red labels and they took the bodies out, laying them on the tables in the room.

Logan sniffed the air. "Some of these are no less than a day old."

They looked at the corpses, opening each body bag half way and then all the way open. The bodies were pale, very pale. Almost white as snow. Clint walked over to the first one that had been pulled out. The toe tag read the date of the previous night.

"Yep. This one is about a day old." He told Eliza who stood next to him to check the second one.

"Three days," she reported.

Logan walked around the bodies, inspecting them for any sign of entry wounds. He smelled the air again, confirming there was no scent of disease or illness on the corpses.

Tigra was examining the last body. "Look at this. On the next, right side."

They came over and took a look. There on the next were two puncture wounds. Relatively small in diameter, but right over where a major vein would be.

Jemma took out a small vial which contained a sterilized swab stick. She placed the stick inside one of the two holes and swished it around. Taking it back out, she placed it back in the vial, then connected the vial to a handheld device.

"This should identify any traces of other DNA on the entry wounds," she explained.

Logan, meanwhile, was looking at another of the six bodies. First he checked the neck, but when that came up negative he checked down the rest of the male corpse.

"Ah ha." He nodded. "Wrist, underside. Two small puncture wounds."

This prompted them to check the remaining four. In the end, Jemma took samples of all of the corpses, some from wounds in the neck, others in the wrist.

Tigra, meanwhile, was reading through each person's report file. There were some interesting similarities.

"Seems that in every case, the victim, so far always male, was found in an alleyway, drained of most of his blood, with small puncture wounds. Also, they were found either during the night or in the morning, having died after dark in all cases."

"Vamps," Logan muttered. "It all points to vamps."


	23. Never Give Up

_A/N: Huge thanks to the incredible CC for her kind review! I'll admit I was SO nervous when I saw you posted one 'cause I know I don't do Wolvie justice, but I did my best to capture the parts of his personality that are especially important to this chapter. I hope this new one does justice to my writing skill, what little of it I have anyway. Leave a review, guys, and tell me what you think of the plot development in this chapter. Because yes, though it is very much angst and depressing, it all has a very important point at the end for the plot, which I hope comes through. Love you!_

* * *

_"When you're surrounded by all these people, it can be lonelier than when you're by yourself. You can be in a huge crowd, but if you don't feel like you can trust anyone or talk to anybody, you feel like you're really alone."_

_\- Fiona Apple_

_"Sometimes even to live is an act of courage."_

_\- Seneca_

* * *

The small investigation team returned to the Academy. Agent Simmons told them she would send over the results as soon as her device finished running the tests. For now she was going back to her hotel room.

When they got home, Eliza felt sick to her stomach. Probably from looking at dead bodies all day. She decided to return to her room. Logan, Clint, and Greer met up with Bobbi for a meeting to discuss what they'd found at the station.

"Everything points to vampires," Clint told his partner.

Bobbi nodded as she took a drink of her water bottle. "Then what do we do about it? How do we stop them?"

"I can think of one way." Logan shrugged. "If we can figure out their hunting grounds, we can use ourselves as bait."

"That's insane." Greer crossed her arms and shook her head. "That's a death sentence."

Logan scoffed. "Let's see a better plan."

Everyone was silent, thinking their own thoughts. No one had a better plan. That was the problem.

"They only see men as food." Clint pointed this fact out. "I'm not sending Fitz out. He'd not stand a chance. That leaves you and me, Logan."

Logan grunted. "Well. Time to figure out where they hunt."

Eliza lay on her bed, humming to herself. She wondered what the other adults were doing. She wondered what the students were doing. She wondered what Peter was doing. Most of all, though, she wondered what her former teammates were doing.

She shot up in bed. Eliza reached to her side table where her phone was plugged in. She opened up contacts and selected one from her "favorites." It began dialing.

_"This is Tony Stark."_

"Hi Tony. Its-"

_"-Eliza!"_

Eliza smiled a small smile. At least he hasn't hung up yet. "Hi. Um. Long time no talk, eh?"

_"How're you doing?! How's Clint?"_ Tony spoke very fast. He sounded better than when they'd parted two months ago.

"He's good. I..." Eliza hesitated. "I'm good too."

She mentally cursed herself. She needed to talk to someone! Why couldn't she do it? Why couldn't she pull herself together?

_"Well that's good to hear! Hey listen, I've gotta go. Pepper's getting an early dinner ready and she needs my help. Call me back in a couple hours, okay?"_

She frowned. "Oh. Yeah okay. Go help her out."

_"Bye, kid!"_

The phone line went dead.

"Bye," she whispered.

Eliza sighed and looked through her contacts. She dialed another one.

_"You have reached Natasha Romanoff. Please leave a message after the tone."_

"Hi Nat. Its me again. Eliza." She paused. "Hey I just... I want to hear your voice. Please call me back. Thanks. Bye."

She hung up the phone with a sigh. Then she picked another number. The phone rang.

_"You've reached Bruce Banner. Please leave a message after the beep."_

"Hey Bruce. It's Eliza." She took a deep breath and then continued. "I really need to talk to you. I know you aren't "that kind of doctor" but you've helped me before so maybe you can help me again. Thanks. Talk to you soon."

There was one final number she would try.

_"Hi! You've reached Darcy Lewis! Sorry I can't come to the phone right now. Please leave me a message and I'll get back to you soon!"_

Eliza sighed. "Hey Darce. Just thought I'd give you a call. Thought maybe we could take a Disney vacation soon. You know. Just me and you? Please call me back. Bye."

With that, she gave up contacting her old friends. She would have to do without them.

Eliza decided to take a walk. Her feet took her all around the Academy. She passed the Student Quarters, the Faculty Quarters, the lounge, the training rooms. Eventually she found herself in front of Counseling.

With a hesitant knock, Eliza found herself invited in by Doc Samson. Why she'd gone there, she wasn't entirely sure. But it was a good thing she did. For what she didn't consciously realize was the reason she'd tried reaching out to all those old friends. She'd wanted to say goodbye.

"Eliza, are you alright?" Leonard Samson looked at the sorceress in concern. "You don't look well."

"Doc. I.." She got choked up. "I... I think I've been thinking of suicide again."

He looked troubled. "You _think_? What do you mean?"

Eliza sat down in the lime green beanbag chair. "Well it enters my mind every so often. I don't mean to. It... It just does!" She started crying. "I promise I'm not crazy!"

He sighed. "Well it's a good thing you came to me instead of acting on these thoughts. We're going to have to step up your therapy sessions I think."

She nodded sadly.

"Do you feel safe being on your own?" He looked her up and down. "Or do you want me to assign someone to you?"

She considered this.

* * *

_"Agent Barton please report to the counseling office."_

Clint looked up from his computer in surprise at the announcement. What could Doc Samson need with him? Everyone else in the room looked up at him. They'd been doing important research into the Vampire problem.

"I've no idea." He shrugged in response as he stood up and left the room.

Clint made his way to counseling. He passed several students on his way and Lucky ended up trotted next to him.

"Hey buddy. Coming with me?" He asked the dog.

Lucky barked in response. The two continued on to Doc Samson's office. When they got there, Clint knocked and the doctor told him to come in. He went inside and was surprised to find Eliza sitting there looking ashamed.

"What's up?"

"Sit down Agent Barton. Please," said Doc Samson to the more experienced agent. "We need to make you aware of some things."

He looked warily at the two others but took a seat. Lucky waddled over to Eliza and she pet him silently on the head.

"Eliza has brought to my attention the fact that she is experiencing suicidal thoughts," Doctor Samson said to Clint. "She came to me of her own power and determination, which is a very good sign."

Clint nodded, looking in concern at Eliza. She held her head low and refused to make eye contact.

"However," Doc Samson continued, "She requests that someone remain with her for some time to keep her safe. I do not believe she should be in her room at night by herself. I also want her doing things with people instead of remaining by herself."

"Sounds reasonable." Clint nodded. "Come on, Liz. We need to talk."

Eliza thanked the doctor and left with Clint, pulling Lucky along behind her.

As soon as the door closed, Clint sighed and put a hand on his forehead in frustration.

"I thought we were done with... With all this." He gestured with his hands. "What triggered this again?"

She looked at the ground. "I don't know."

He sighed. "You sure it's not some powerful telepath like back in Asgard?"

"No." Eliza shook her head.

"Alright well, come on." Clint sighed. "For now I'm taking you off teaching duties. I want you in therapy every day for at least the next week until we get this under control."

She looked at him, horrified. "You can take away my classes! I need them!"

"Its final, Eliza. I don't think you should be teaching right now."

She bit her lip as angry tears sprung to her eyes. "And Logan wanted to know why I don't bring this up with anyone! Because no one can possibly understand unless they've been there!"

Eliza took off running and ran through the halls, out the door, and into the traffic circle at the entrance of the Academy. She closed her eyes and teleported out into the open fields that surrounded the base. She ran and ran until she was out of breath. She found herself in a small residential neighborhood. Making her way towards a McDonalds, she bumped into a tall woman in all black wearing black sunglasses.

"Oh I'm so sorry," Eliza insisted, helping the woman up off the ground. "Are you alright?"

"Yes I'm fine." The woman smiled.

The woman's red eyes glowed with curiosity beneath her sunglasses, but Eliza couldn't see them. She recognized this runaway. This was The Changeling, the Avenger. And she'd just crosses paths with Lilith Drake, the vampire, daughter of Dracula.

Oh what good fortune for the latter.


	24. Over the Doorstep

Eliza went inside the McDonalds. After a moment of panic, she realized she did indeed have her wallet with her SHIELD issued credit card so she was good.

"I'd like a chocolate shake please," she ordered.

The man nodded and plugged in her order. Eliza paid and stepped back to wait for her drink. When it was ready, she took it with a smile and left the restaurant. She needed to take a walk, clear her head. She had a lot to think about.

She didn't notice the small rat trailing behind her in the shadows.

* * *

"Clint, what'd you do?" Bobbi sighed. "Why'd she run?"

Clint glared at her. "All I did was take her off teaching duty for a little while!"

Logan rolled his eyes. "Well that was stupid."

"She's in no shape to be teaching the students," Clint objected angrily.

Logan snorted as if it was obvious. "You essentially punished her for coming forward about her depression. Teaching's the one thing she enjoys. Any idiot could see that."

Clint glared at him. "How I manage my team is of no concern of yours."

"Listen, _bub_. Right now, Eliza doesn't consider you just a team leader. She sees you as a dad, though why is beyond me." Logan scoffed, looking Clint up and down. "She's in more pain than you realize."

"How come you seem to know so much about Eliza's current mood?" Clint bit back. "She never came to me about any of this!"

He chuckled. "The kid talks, if someone is willing to listen. You're just too busy."

Clint glared at him before turning back to Bobbi. "She can handle herself. She's gonna have to. Right now we need to do some investigating into the vampires. Jemma should be sending her report over any minute."

Logan snorted and went out into the hall. He ended up running into Kitty as the fading light of day drifted in through the windows.

"Hey have you seen Eliza?" she asked him. "I can't find her anywhere! I even tried calling her."

Logan explained to Kitty all that Clint had told him. He told her how Eliza had been having suicidal thoughts and had gone to see Doc Samson. He explained how Clint had taken away Eliza's teaching job which ended up doing more harm than good as she ran away.

"Though honestly, I bet the kid's just thinking things through. She'll be fine," Logan promised Kitty.

"I don't know, Logan. I have a bad feeling about all this," Kitty pouted.

* * *

Eliza ended up coming to a halt at a dead end. She turned around to head somewhere else but found herself looking at a small rat with red eyes.

"Oh hello there," she smiled.

Suddenly the rat began growing, changing shape. The fur turned into clothing, the rat eyes into human eyes. Right before Eliza now stood the woman from earlier.

"Who the hell are you?" Eliza demanded, putting her hands up in front with flames dancing around them. "And what are you!"

The woman smiled and gave a small laugh. She reached up and removed her dark sunglasses.

"My name is Lilith Drake. I'm a vampire." She smiled. "A very special vampire."

"Give me one reason I shouldn't kill you where you stand, you monster!"

Lilith Drake chuckled. "So quick to judge, young lady. I may be a vampire, but I'm not the one you wish to kill. In fact, I'm here to request a favor."

"Go on," Eliza prompted.

"I need help exterminating the Siren Sect of my kind that has made its home here in San Francisco. They are allies of my father." She spat on the ground. "Filthy whores. They need to be stopped. But I can't do it alone."

"And why should I believe you?" Eliza snarled. "You're one of those blood suckers too, I can tell by your eyes."

"True enough." Lilith nodded. "I was created for one sole purpose. To destroy my father. Unfortunately thanks to a little... curse... I can't do that directly. So I'm killing vampires one by one to exact my revenge. Right now it's Alyssa and her band of scavengers that have caught my eye."

"Why are you not dead?" Eliza suddenly asked. "After all, the sun is out."

"Ah yes. Well you see, I have all the perks of being a vampire, but none of the weaknesses. It's nice." Lilith nodded. "But now it's my turn to ask questions. What are you doing here, alone, without your team?"

Eliza straightened up. "Maybe I'm not alone."

"Yes. You are."

Eliza sighed. "I had a... disagreement with one of my teammates and needed some space and time to think."

Lilith shrugged in acceptance of her explanation. "You know, I could help you fight these other vampires. You just need to trust me."

"But I don't trust you," Eliza pointed out, "You're a vampire. And just who is your father?"

"You may have heard of him." Lilith shrugged. "Goes by Dracula nowadays."

"Dracula?" Eliza looked at this woman with a newfound mix of fearand respect. "Like, THE Dracula?"

"Yeah. He's a terrible father by the way."

* * *

Jemma Simmons' findings confirmed that someone else's DNA was in the puncture wounds, in the form of saliva. Once again the evidence lined up with vampires.

It was almost nine o'clock and still no one had heard from Eliza. Clint was sitting in the lounge with Bobbi, Sharon, Greer, Jan, and Fitz watching a baseball game. Logan and Kitty were somewhere in the Academy and most of the kids were screwing around in the pool or game room.

Suddenly Clint's cell began to ring. He looked at the caller ID and saw it was Tony Stark.

"Hello?" He got up quickly from his seat and went into the hallway to get away from the noise.

"Hey Clint, buddy, it's Tony."

"Hey Tony, what's up?"

_"Well Eliza called earlier and I told her to call me back in a couple hours but she never did. I was checking in to make sure everything's alright."_

Clint nodded before he continued on his phone. "Actually no. She's started having suicidal thoughts again. And now she's gone AWOL." He sighed. "I tried treating her like any of my other faculty members but it obviously didn't work. I took her off teaching and she freaked!"

Tony laughed_. "Clint, you've known Liz longer than I have, but even I know things don't go well when you take away something she loves to do."_

With a sigh, Clint nodded. "I know, I know. It was stupid."

"Sure was, bub." Logan smirked as he walked by on his way with Kitty to the lounge.

Clint rolled his eyes and turned back to his phone conversation.

_"Was that Wolverine?_" Tony asked in amusement.

"Yeah," Clint muttered.

Tony laughed._ "Well make sure you let me know when you find Eliza. I still want to talk to her._"

"Sounds good." Clint continued, "Keep in touch, Tony. It took Eliza calling for you to get in touch. That's not fair."

_"Sorry, Clint. You're right. I shut myself off. It wasn't the right choice and I see that now. I'll keep in touch, I promise," Tony told him_.

Clint and Tony bid each other goodbye and hung up their phones. Clint returned to the couch and sighed.

"Another ten minutes and we better go look for her."

Ten minutes later and Greer, Clint, Logan, Kitty, Clint and Bobbi were at the front door, about to leave. They opened up the front only to find Eliza and another, much taller woman coming up the steps.

"Where the hell have you been," Clint sighed. "Come 'ere kid."

He pulled her into a quick hug before pushing her inside behind him.

"Who are you?" He asked Lilith.

"Lilith Drake." She removed her sunglasses, revealing her red eyes.

"What the hell," Clint demanded, looking at Eliza, "She's a vampire! You brought a vampire here?"

"Hear her out, Clint. She wants to help us," Eliza told him.

"Help kill us maybe," Logan muttered, letting his claws out. "Get back, Ms Drake, I'm only warning you once."

Lilith sighed dramatically. "Oh dear Wolverine, do put those class away."

He snarled at her.

"Would everyone calm down!" Eliza shouted. "Logan, get back. Clint, trust me. She's on our side."

"Now I wouldn't say that exactly," Lilith laughed. "But I am against the Siren Sect. Those are the vampires you've been tracking lately."

"Fine. I'll give you a chance."

He turned and went back inside, followed by Logan. Everyone waited for Lilith Drake who looked hesitantly at the doorstep.

"Well?" Clint looked at her in confusion.

She frowned. "I, uh, can't step past the entrance without express permission. It's a vampire thing..."

Logan smirked. Clint chuckled and Eliza put her head in her hands. The others just looked amused.

"Well, come on in Lilith Drake," Clint finally said. "We invite you in."

She stepped inside. Following the small group, two of which behind her she noted had their hands on their guns, she was escorted to a briefing room. When they reached their destination, Clint unlocked a door and gestured for everyone to go inside.

"So. Ms. Drake. Who are you exactly?" he asked her.

She smiled. "Dracula's daughter."


End file.
